


The Call

by HonkmyHorse



Category: Captain America (Movies), Iron Man (Movies), Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Avengers (Marvel Movies)
Genre: Adopted Children, Adoption, Babysitting, Bodily Fluids, Character Development, Cute Ending, Cute Kids, Developing Relationship, Diapers, Domestic Fluff, Established Relationship, Family Feels, Fluff and Humor, Growing Up, Healing, Literal Sleeping Together, M/M, Marriage, Not Captain America: Civil War (Movie) Compliant, Original Character(s), Parent Bucky Barnes, Parent Steve Rogers, Parent Tony Stark, Parenthood, Polyamory, Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder - PTSD, References to Depression, Superfamily (Marvel), Team as Family, Tony Stark Has Daddy Issues
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-01-15
Updated: 2019-07-03
Packaged: 2019-10-10 21:42:51
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 13
Words: 23,381
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17434028
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/HonkmyHorse/pseuds/HonkmyHorse
Summary: Steve and Tony decide to expand their superfamily by one (little) more.Eventual adding of other characters. Not civil war compliant.





	1. Chapter 1: A Feeling

Steve sat quietly on the bench in the park after a solo run. His deep blue eyes settled on the New York horizon as the sun rose slowly, bathing the city in bright orange rays. He let out a small sigh as he watched a woman run by, pushing a stroller. His eyes lingered a bit longer than he expected and he sighed again. Sam plunked himself onto the bench next to him, huffing heavily as he caught his breath. 

“Damn, you even had time to sit down and stare off into space.” He chuckled and took a deep breath before uncapping a bottle of water and taking a long sip. “What’s got you all serious?” Steve leaned back and straightened his legs, flexing his calf’s to relieve the growing, post run tension. 

“One of the thing’s I’ve always dreamed about, was having kids and a little family of my own.” Steve said simply. Sam raised his eyebrows curiously. 

“Yeah? I can see you as a dad. What’s stopping you from adopting a kid with Tony?” Sam asked, sending a fiery red blush blazing up Steve’s cheeks all the way to the tips of his ears. Steve sat up and cleared his throat.

“Well I haven’t asked Tony. He’s busy with the company, and inventing and...stuff. He doesn’t seem to want to be a dad as much as I do. Plus searching for Bucky has taken up the very little free time I had.” His blue eyes settled on something in the distance, refusing to look at the patronizing glance he knew his friend was giving him. “Plus, being an Avenger means not being home and SHIELD missions. A kid can’t just be left alone while I run around blowing stuff up.”

“Steve, you do know Tony would do anything for you, right? And I mean anything. The man adores you. He’d find a way to watch the kid if both of you were gone. Plus you’ve got a whole team of people. We rarely all get called out together.” Sam offered, taking another long gulp of water. After a second of silence as the world awoke around them, he set his water bottle down and stretched his legs. “Look Steve. We only get so long in this life to do what we want with those we love. I think...the two of you could be damn good parents, and if that’s your dream, why not go after it? At least think about it man.” Steve leaned back into the bench and sighed.

“Right.”  
….  
Steve thought about it quite a bit. 

While searching a local department store for a gift for Bruce’s upcoming birthday, his eyes wandered over to the children’s section. He looked over all of the cute little clothing sets. T shirts, dresses, little pairs of shoes.

Slowly, he wandered into the toy section, and he was transfixed by all of the cute little stuffed animals. He could easily imagine a kid running around excitedly with a stuffed bear or fox tucked under their arm.

He bought a single stuffed rabbit with a white ribbon tied around its neck, and downy brown fur. 

The next morning, on his run, he looked a bit longer at the playground than he used to. He imagined pushing a little girl or boy on the swings and chasing them around the play equipment. 

Steve stopped by a café to pick up some breakfast. He couldn’t help but glance at the kids menu and eye all of the child friendly options, imagining ordering fruit salad or a donut for a hungry and happy kid, bouncing excitedly as they waited.

That night, Steve sat down on the edge of the bed as Tony exited the shower. His partner dried his short brown hair haphazardly with a towel, a stark phone in his hand and a confused look in his deep brown eyes. Steve sat quietly, stock still as he turned the soft rabbit over and over in his hands, fingering a white satin ribbon that was tied around its neck. 

“Whatcha got there Steve?” Tony questioned as he sat on the bed and peered over his shoulder. “Need a teddy bear to sleep now?”

“No, nothing like that. I just thought...can we have a serious conversation about something?” Steve suddenly asked, turning his body in Tony’s direction, as the man hung the towel on the edge of the bed cocked a brow. 

“Yeah, sure.” 

Steve opened his mouth and paused, drawing his lips into a thin line before finally speaking.“I was talking to Sam and I realized I’m not getting any younger.” He said. Tony’s mouth twitched up and his eyes looked up at the ceiling before looking back at Steve. Steve resisted the urge to roll his eyes, because he knew Tony was going to make a wise quip about him being old, but decided against it. 3 years of dating made his body language crystal clear to his partner. “We should have a baby.” Tony flinched visibly, eyes going from wide with surprise, to squinted curiously. 

“A baby? Like a physical baby? I don’t know if you had sex ed back in your day, but we don’t exactly have the parts required for that job.” Tony said, leaning back against the pillows behind him, with a small smirk tugging at his lips. Steve rolled his eyes and deadpanned him.

“Tony I’m not an idiot. I know that. I didn’t mean physically have a baby...adoption is a thing.” Steve trailed off quietly, leaning back to join his partner against the plush pillows against the headboard.Steve turned on his side to reach over and gently thread his fingers into Tony’s. “We could be good dads. Just imagine us with a little one.” Steve whispered, blue eyes staring into hazel. Tony sighed shifting the bed slightly. He rested his hand on Steve’s hips, a look of sincerity evident on his handsome features.

“Steve this is something I’ve never really considered. I’d really have to think about it. I mean I know you would be a good dad, but growing up under Howard makes me question if I can ever be one. Plus with work and being an Avenger and-“ Steve cut him off with a shake of his head. 

“We could plan something in case of an emergency. Other than shield missions, I don’t do much. I could watch the baby most of the time. And if I get called out Natasha loves kids. And Clint has plenty of experience. We can figure it out, together. Just...can you think about it? Please?” Steve asked, giving him a pleading look as he used his thumb to caress Tony’s rough palm. Tony could not say no to that look. He crumbled under the pressure and huffed. 

“I can think about it.” He whispered, enjoyed the soft touch of his husband. Steve quickly pulled him into a hug, causing Tony to squeak, as he mumbled thank you’s into his hair. 

They were...potentially going to have a baby.


	2. Chapter 2: Growing Hope

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Tony thinks about being a dad. 
> 
> Steve thinks about being a dad and being with his best friend again.

Chapter 2: Growing Hope

“Adopting?” Pepper questioned as she sipped from an expensive blend of exotic coffee beans, ground into some sort of fancy drink and topped with whipped cream and caramel. Tony nodded, leaning into his plush office chair with a red stark industries mug in his hand. The room smelled of high quality coffee and perfume as the sun set over New York City behind them, bathing the room in bright orange and pink hues of light form the large glass windows.

“Steve really wants to. He’s been totally spaced out, just thinking about it. He even bought the nonexistent kid a toy already.” Tony answered, enjoying the cool spring breeze against his neck from the open window. He took a long sip as he smiled fondly to himself, thinking of Steve sitting on the bed with that rabbit in his hands and the dreamy gleam in his soft blue eyes. 

“Well, what about you?” Pepper inquired, tilting her head a bit. Her well manicured nails rapped against the glass of her cup, making light tinkling sounds, almost like bells as she adjusted the way she was sitting across from him. Tony shrugged a bit as he swallowed. 

“I was hesitant at first. But the more we looked at kids stuff and talked about being parents and all of the things we could give a child, I’m...more comfortable with the idea. We’ve been going through files and making changes around the tower and...I think we’re going to go through with it. We have a set of kids we’d like to meet tomorrow, that we picked out together over the last month or so.” Tony explained. Pepper nearly choked, emerald eyes suddenly wide. 

“Tomorrow? Jesus Tony, isn’t that a bit fast?” She wondered aloud, sitting straight up. Tony shook his head, mentally counting the amount of time he and Steve had been pondering the idea.

“We’ve been talking about this for awhile now, almost 5 months. I’m a lot more comfortable, and meeting a kid doesn’t mean coming home with one. We’d have a lot more work to do, things to put into place, and changes to decide on between us, as well as the team, before we’d officially adopt a child. And even then, it’s a process with paperwork and all that, plus timed visitation, overnight stays and a period of fostering before we can apply to be legal guardians. It’s a bit of a complicated procedure, but my reputation precedes me, so I doubt it’ll be too hard to pull off.” He huffed and twisted his ankle a few times under the table, something he often did while thinking. “And besides, it’s Steve and I. No matter what, things always work out just the way they’re meant to. Pretty sure that super soldier serum gave him some damn good luck too.” Tony mumbled the last bit and downed the remnants of his coffee. Pepper shook her head a bit at his joke and then thought for a moment. 

“Tony...are you sure you want to be a dad?” She asked. Tony looked up, locking eyes with her as sincerity shone in his hazel eyes. 

“I’m rarely every sure about anything Pep. I...can’t know that until I’ve tried. I can for sure say, I do want to try though, for Steve’s sake at least.” Tony looked back down, with a small sigh. Pepper nodded at his words and a bit of silence fell over the two of them for a moment. She stood to her feet, adjusting her skirt and blouse. WIth a quick check of her watch, she reached across to pat his hand. 

“I’m proud of you, and I’m happy as long as you two are happy. ” She reassured, grabbing her bag. Tony paused for a moment, turning the empty mug over in his hands as he watched her go.

“Thanks Pepper. I’ll see you tomorrow morning.”

**  
Steve eyed the two files sitting plainly on the wooden table at his favorite diner. He picked at a piece of bacon on his plate, tearing a piece off between his teeth, chewing slowly before letting out a small breath. Across from him, Sam sipped coffee from a red mug and cocked a brow at his best friend, before nudging the envelopes closer to Steve. 

“You gonna...look at those some time in this millenia?” Sam teased, a playful smile blooming on his face. 

“Why two?” Steve questioned, furrowing his eyebrows in confusion as he takes another bite of his post run breakfast. 

“I just looked into something I thought you might appreciate.” Sam pointed out. Oddly enough, Steve went for the unknown file, out of pure curiosity. Opening it slowly, he skimmed quickly over the first page of information, his azure eyes shooting up quickly to eye his friend before darting back down to the papers in his hands. He had to clear his throat before he spoke.   
“A background check?” Steve questioned, closing the file. Sam nodded sitting up. 

“One for Tony and you. Plus, a certification from an adoption panel.” Sam grinned smugly as Steve gaped at him, eyes wide. “All you have to do is find your little match, do some visitation with a social worker and foster for a little while, and then you can legally file to be official parents.” 

“How in the world did you get these so fast?” Steve asked, reopening the beige file and looking it all over again to be sure he wasn’t wrong. Sam shrugged.

“The same way I track Bucky sightings. I’ve got people in high places.” Steve took a deep breath as he closed the file a second time and leaned his head on his hand. 

“I don’t know how I will ever be able to thank you for this one. This is...it’s amazing.” Steve said quietly, still partially in awe. Sam shrugged again and pushed the file on Bucky directly into Steve’s view. 

“Well, this may blow your mind a bit more. I have a confirmed sighting near Albania. As in, pictures and a possible residential location.” Sam explained, opening the other file and pushing it over to . Surely enough, there were pictures of a man who looked almost identical to Bucky, kind of slinking around a city. Steve looked at the photos slowly, analyzing every detail and reading over the reports. “So? What do you want to do?” Sam questioned. Steve took a deep breath and let it out slowly, thinking over his options. 

“Now isn’t the best time for me to go off to the wilderness for an extended period of time...And this was over a month ago, he could have moved again.” Steve said, frowning deeply. Sam nodded in understanding. 

“I’ll keep my eyes and ears open and relay anything I find out to you as soon as I get it.” Steve nodded back, thanked him, and dug a 10 out of his pocket, sticking it between the salt and pepper shaker to tip the waitress. He stood, taking both envelopes, and after a quick hug, he exited the small diner. Sam headed off on his own way, but Steve stood there for a moment, just listening to the hustle and bustle of the city and thinking about what it would be like to be a dad and have his best friend back. He hoped it would be sooner, rather than later. 

____

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for reading this chapter. Since it's a bit short, I may post another chapter either today or tomorrow. I appreciate any type of comments and can't wait to write more since it seems like you guys are really liking the story. I've also been asked to write a follow-up, with an upcoming character where civil war and Ultron have both happened and having it take place during/post infinity war. What do you guys think? I'll bring this up again once the character is introduced!


	3. Chapter 3: Quiet thoughts

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Steve and Tony meet an unexpected girl who captures their hearts.

Chapter 3: Quiet Thoughts

Of all of the various fights and wars Steve had been a part of, never in his life was he as nerve-wracked as he was at this very moment. As they drove, Steve changed the radio station 6 times, sucked in deep breaths and held them for way too long 4 times, tapped his fingers on the wheel each time they were stopped by a light, and checked his watch 9 times (and yes, Tony was counting). Steve got out of the car first, nearly vibrating with anxiety. He visibly flinched with Tony shut his door and the shorter man rolled his eyes with a small smile on his face. 

“Come on now Steve. It’ll all be fine.” Tony soothed, as the blonde walked (sprinted) to his side. He held his hand gently in his own, giving it a reassuring squeeze as they exited the parking lot and walked up the walkway. 

Strawberry Fields Adoption Agency was a small, homey building in upper New York. As they stood in front of the pale yellow door, Steve adjusted his blue flannel button up and took some more deep breaths. Outside there were colorful flowers blooming along the foundation, a few kids toys scattered along the front yard, bikes lined up against a fence, and chalk doodles decorating the concrete in various pastel colors, making it very obvious that quite a few kids of various ages shared the home. 

“So, do you want me to get the door, or do you need a moment?” Tony said pulling him from his thoughts. Steve pinked slightly, chuckled awkwardly, and reached for the handle himself, opening the door with a squeak. The pair entered, coming up to a desk where an older looking girl, maybe 10, sat quietly in a green t-shirt and pigtails with a crayon in one hand, and a marker missing a cap in the other as she doodled on a piece of paper. She looked up to acknowledge them and flashed a friendly smile. 

“Hi! I’m Alexa. I’m the door girl for right now. You’re…” she paused to look at a slip of paper taped to the edge of the desk. “The Stark’s right?” she asked, head snapping up curiously. The pair looked at each other, then back down. Steve nodded in affirmation and her smile returned. “Okay! It’s my job to take you to Ms. Honey. She’s making lunch. C’mon.” Alexa easily hopped out of the chair and trotted past several doors with a hop in her step. “Ms. Honey! The Starks are here!” Alexa called in a peppy, singsong voice, entering a large kitchen while passing various kids zipping by with toys and a few sitting at the kitchen table. A woman with long brown hair speckled with gray strands, looked up from the stove, holding a spoon in one hand. She turned and smiled, setting the spoon on the counter. 

“Thank you, Alexa. You’re doing a great job. Why don’t you go play for a while, tell James to take your place, please.” the older woman patted her head gently as Alexa skipped off excitedly. “Sorry about that. My aid Lindsey had a family emergency and couldn’t man the desk today. Samantha Honey, or as the kids call me, Ms. Honey.” she explained with a sweet smile, offering her hand to shake. 

“Steve Rodgers” Steve spoke quickly, reaching forward and shaking her hand firmly. 

“Tony Stark.” Tony shook her hand next, surprised when she didn’t gush over him as she shook his hand. Instead, she untied her apron, turned off the stove, and gestured down the hall. 

“Well then, you two had some children you’d like to meet with? If you don’t mind, we’ll have to do our meeting in the nursery. I’m going to send my aid from that room to serve lunch to the older children.” she said, as she lead them into a pastel room with a tv playing a bright colored cartoon of some sort. There were six babies of various ages sprawled out across the carpet with various toys. A woman was wiping down a highchair in the corner and smiled in greeting. 

“Olivia, I’m going to have a couple meeting some kids in here. Think you could give the older one's lunch? Broccoli is on the counter, Mac and Cheese is cooling on the stove, and there are PB and J’s in the fridge.” she instructed, as the younger woman nodded and headed out. “Sorry about that. Now you wanted to see Susan, George, and Francis, right?” Ms. Honey asked, gesturing to the only adult-sized table in the room. 

“Yes, that’s who we spoke about on the phone.” Steve said, blue eyes looking absently across the room as he answered the question and settled himself into one of the few adult-sized chairs in the room.

“Alright. I’ll be right back.” And with that, she disappeared quickly out of one of the doors. Tony looked at Steve in confusion as he sat down next to him.

“What’s got your mind, Steve?” Tony asked, nudging his leg. Steve chuckled and nodded his head across the room. A dark-haired baby was peering between the bars of a nearby crib curiously. Her piercing gray eyes stared and Tony waved at her, making her break into a huge grin. Quickly, she ducked down and popped back up in a makeshift game of peek a boo, bursting into giggles everytime Steve or Tony acknowledged her, then dipping back down again. Tony’s heart...fluttered. Had it ever... done that before?

“I see Ellie has captivated you.” A sudden light voice caught their attention. Ms. Honey held the hand of a short-haired boy, George, and a girl with little buns on either side of her head, Susan. Steve smiled sheepishly and nodded. Quickly, she shooed them off to play for a moment and walked over to the cribs and easily scooped Ellie up in her arms.“This is Eleanor, but we call her Ellie. Can you say hi Ellie?” The girl grinned and gave them a quick hand flap as a wave as Ms. Honey bounced her on her hip. Ms. Honey sat down, setting Ellie on her knee, and the baby attempted to stand up in her lap, grinning widely and babbling. “Ellie’s parents passed away a few months ago. Luckily, she has an older sister, who took care of her until she graduated from college and joined the Marines. She didn’t really have anyone to care for Ellie...and she ended up here. She’s very well behaved and always loves to be the center of attention. If you catch her on a good day, she’ll sing and dance to just about anything you put on, and most days are her good days. She can be energetic, but she loves to sleep, and she’ll sleep all day if you let her.” Ellie had focused herself on one of the buttons on Ms. Honey’s t-shirt, playing with it between her chubby little fingers. “If you’d like, you’ve got about…” she pauses and looks at the duck shaped clock on the wall “30 minutes until they have to go down for their nap.” The pair looked at each other. Tony saw the pleading look in Steve’s eyes and melted without even exchanging a word. “If she isn’t what you’re looking for, there’s always Francis, Susan, or George.” 

“I think that would be a good idea.” Steve spoke up. Tony nodded in agreement and Ms. Honey smiled. 

“Alright. Here, how about…” she got up, setting Ellie on the floor and picking up a few spare toys from around the room. A car, a few soft blocks, and a ball that looked like it had fish swimming on it. “These should be good. If you need me, I’ll be right here.” She said, gesturing to the carpet. The two men slid down onto the plush flooring and looked over the toys in question. 

“How about the ball. Do you want to play with the ball, Ellie?” Steve asked softly, picking up the blue ball in his hands, his tone light and sweet. Tony scoffed playfully and reached for the car. 

“No way, she totally wants the red shiny car, right Ellie?” He said, offering the plastic car to the toddler, who looked at them both in confusion for a moment. After a second of mental deliberation, she quickly crawled over to Tony and reached for the red car, gray eyes shining excitedly. Tony smirked triumphantly and gave the toy to her. Steve pouted slightly, setting the ball back down on the floor with a huff of air through his nostrils. Ellie excitedly rolled the toy over the carpet before giving it to Steve, beaming expectantly. 

“Oh, sweetie that’s so nice of you. It’s okay, you can have the car.” Steve said quickly, suddenly flustered. In a flash, Ellie stood on wobbly legs and quickly waddled over to another pile of toys and returned with a blue plastic car, and handed it to Tony this time. The two of them shared a look. 

“Well, thank you, Ellie. That’s was...very nice of you.” Tony said, reaching out to pat her head. The rest of the play session continued, the three eventually ending up tossing the ball around, playing more peek a boo, and ending with a lot of tickling and laughter. As Ellie lay between the two catching her breath, she rubbed her eyes with a closed fist and suddenly yawned. Her once bright gray eyes were drooping, and quickly. 

“Awww, are you all tuckered out?” Steve cooed, reaching forward to gently rub her tummy. Ellie replied with a yawn, shifting comfortably into his hand and stretching. “Oh, someone’s sleepy.”

“And at a good time too.” Ms. Honey said as she turned on a CD player and the sounds of soft rain filled the room. Tony looked up and realized, the other children had disappeared from the area around them and were all lying in different cribs around the room. Steve continued gently rubbing her tummy with the most pleased smile on his face. “Steve.” she whispered. He quickly looked up. “I should go ahead and put her down. Thank you both for playing with her.” Ms. Honey whispered, reaching between the couple and easily lifting Ellie onto her hip. She gently laid her into a crib with a piece of paper taped to the front and her name spelled out in perfect cursive. Steve stood and helped Tony to his feet. Tony held his hand, a small smile on his face as well.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you guys for reading! I hope you enjoyed this longer chapter. The next update will be next Tuesday, back on our normal schedule. I appreciate the support!


	4. Chapter 4:Quiet Words

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Tony and Steve make an important decision after lots of consideration.

Chapter 4: Quiet Words

Tony never dreamed he’d want a baby. 

Or babies for that matter. Hell, kids at all scared the shit out of Tony. 

As he watched the New York skyline to come into view, Tony couldn’t get his mind off of that kid. Something about those sparkling, innocent gray eyes and her high pitched laughter made his heart swell in a surprisingly, out of character manner. Tony hadn’t felt...whatever that feeling was, since he’d dog sat Rhodey’s puppy once and the little thing kept licking his face and pawing at his legs. What was he feeling? Certainly not love. He hadn’t even known the kid for longer than a half an hour, yet he was oddly enthralled. He could definitely see himself and Steve pushing her on swings, having tickle fights, and chasing her around the tower. This was definitely Steve’s fault for putting those...oddly mushy thoughts in his head. He shuddered. 

Never, had Tony Stark ever wanted something as much as he did right then. 

“Tony?” Steve whispered, patting him gently on the knee when they stopped at a light. The brown-haired man sat up a bit and looked over, cocking a brow. “I know we talked about an older child..” Steve half mumbled, hand gripping the steering wheel a bit tighter. 

“Good to know our minds are in the same place.” Tony said simply. Steve furrowed his eyebrows and then raised them sharply. 

“Does that mean that you’re considering it too?” He questioned, shifting in the seat next to him.

“I’m...thinking about it.” Tony said. Steve stiffened visibly. “That does mean we’d have to consider a lot of things. Having a baby in the tower means a lot more than a toddler or an older kid. It means baby proofing, cribs, diapers...all of that. It’s a daunting task.”

“But I wouldn’t want to do it with anyone other than you, and our little family.” Steve said simply, looking over at his partner as they stopped at another light. Blue met brown. Steve could see the sincerity in Tony’s eyes. He really was thinking about the prospect of having a baby instead of a toddler. “We would make damn good parents Mr. Stark.” Tony scoffed and nudged him playfully as the light turned. 

“I don’t disagree.”  
~~~~  
Steve had more than baby fever, he had a baby wildfire brewing in his heart. 

It had been a few days since they’d met, but Steve could not keep Ellie off of his mind, to the point where it kept him up at night. It was 12 AM. He couldn’t sleep and Tony was down in the lab tinkering with Bruce on god knows what, and no amount of tossing and turning was putting him in the mood to drift off. Steve climbed out of bed. He slipped his slippers on and headed straight for the nursery. 

Originally, Steve and Tony had agreed that they would leave the kid’s room relatively bare. And they’d stuck to that. The walls were painted a pale turquoise (a color the two had agreed was gender neutral). Other than a white plush chair, a nightstand with a white, rabbit shaped lamp, pale turquoise and white chevron curtains hanging over the long glass windows, and soft gray carpet, it was mostly bare. Steve took a moment to look the room over. Nothing had changed, but maybe it should. Steve reached into the closet and pulled out a few gallons of paint; white, pink and blue, and a couple of small paint brushes. Sinking to the floor, he pictured a few unicorns playing together along the baseboard and got to work.  
….  
Tony kicked off his shoes and sighed deeply. He ran a hand over his face as he headed into the kitchen, grabbing a water bottle and going straight for his bedroom. It had to be past 4 AM. Birds were chirping away outside, but the sun hadn’t begun to rise. Tony sauntered down the hall, to the master bedroom, smelling heavily of oil. Splotches of antifreeze decorated his hands and as well as his face, but he paused when he heard gentle music playing lowly from the nursery. 

“Steve?” Tony asked, opening the cracked door and slipping into the nursery. His boyfriend looked up from his spot on the floor, leaning against the baseboard with a small paint brush poised between his fingers, painting details on a pale blue unicorn. His blond hair was messy, and he had blotches of paint along his t-shirt. Slowly, he sat up and ran a hand through his hair. 

“Hey. Good to see you made it to out from the lab.” Steve teased, swirling the brush through a cup of dirty paint water and sitting back and stretching his arms as his bright blue eyes took him in. Tony sat down next to him and eyed the work he’d done. Each unicorn was a little different than the last, with different eye and mane colors, and they all seemed to vary in size. He gestured to it. 

“Seems I haven’t been the only one busy. What made you wanna paint?” Tony asked. Steve pulled the smaller man into his body with a sigh. 

“I couldn't sleep again. So, I thought I would at least be productive. I’m very sure, even if Ellie isn’t for us…” Tony gave him a look of skepticism, considering they’d both just about made up their minds that she was. “Even if she isn’t, I think I really want a girl. And it’s almost like us having a baby is like finding a unicorn, ya know? It’s magical almost. I thought it would be nice if we did a magic theme. Unicorns, mermaids, and rainbows. That kind of stuff.” Steve whispered, tightening his grip on Tony and giving him a kiss on the forehead. The inventor hummed in agreement. 

“I think that’s an adorable idea, old man. Let’s...let’s go through with it Steve.” Tony felt Steve flinch. Silence fell over the couple as they embraced on the nursery floor, listening to the birds chirp outside. 

“I thought you’d never say it.” Steve rasped. Tony looked up and smiled slightly when he noticed Steve actually crying. He sits up and pulls Steve into a tighter hug. They stay like that until the sun comes up.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for reading another chapter! We're getting close to the good stuff, and then I can start adding in more characters. However, it'll be a couple more before Peter, and a bit before Bucky. I finally got around to making a tumblr that was marvel themed! Yay! Because of that, I have chosen to add little chapter additions that will only be on my tumblr. They won't be imperative to the story, it'll be more like a little post-credit scene of extra fluff or something, that way you don't have to read it if you don't want to. The tag I'm going to use for information about the story (I'm going to be posting a whole timeline and explaining the stories I've chosen to write that will eventually branch out from this one) as well as these little postcredit scene-esque additions will be #hmhthecall in case you miss an excerpt and it ends up lost in stuff I'm reblogging. 
> 
> You can find me on tumblr @honkmyhorse
> 
> This one is a bit short, so if you'd like another chapter, just send me an ask and I'll post chapter 5.


	5. Chapter 5: Louder and Louder

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Steve and Tony get some hands-on experience with Ellie for the first time.

Chapter 5: Louder and Louder

On June 12th, Steve started his day like any other. He took a short run to the park and back, had a hot shower, dressed in a red short-sleeved button up and jeans, made the bed, and cooked a small breakfast of bacon, eggs, and toast. After he washed the dishes, Steve checked his watch. It was only 9:30. They weren’t supposed to leave until 10:45. Steve pursed his lips and went to the couch and went through the bag he’d packed. There were diapers, wipes, a few toys, a pacifier, a tiny jacket, a blanket, and the infamous brown stuffed rabbit. Steve plopped himself on the couch and turned on the tv to entertain himself, setting the bag by the edge of the sofa. Tony came into the main door, still dressed in an expensive suit from a meeting he’d had with Pepper. He kicked his shoes off and sauntered into the kitchen area.

“There’s leftover toast and bacon on the kitchen table.” Steve grumbled as Tony went straight for the coffee maker. 

“Thanks babe. You got up pretty early huh?” Tony asked, standing on his tiptoes to grab a mug. He put in a k cup and started the machine. Steve leaned against the arm of the couch 

“I couldn’t sleep.” Steve said with a small shrug. “So I got up and went running and by the time I was done, it was only 9:30.” Tony bustled around the kitchen for a few minutes before sitting carefully next to Steve, a plate of breakfast in one of his hands. 

“Alright, let’s go through the whole plan again.” Tony mentioned half a piece of toast in his hand. Steve reached for the remote and turned the tv off, sitting up to face his partner. 

“Okay, so, we’re going to the park. Maybe we’ll get ice cream, maybe not. We’ll get lunch for sure. And then...well we have time. We can either come back here or take her back. I wanted her to meet the team, but I don’t know if she’ll be tired, and I don’t want her to be overwhelmed by a whole bunch of new faces, so we can hold that part off if need be.” Steve explained simply, eyes darting up at the ceiling as he thought, and then back to the hazel pools of Tony’s.

“Sounds very doable. I’ve got a Pepper on speed dial in case of a paparazzi emergency, but Happy will also be on standby if need be.” Steve let out a slow sigh at that, thanking god under his breath. “Are you...okay?” Tony questioned, as he took another sip of his coffee. Steve smiled softly at that, reaching out to pull the smaller man into a tight embrace. 

“I’m more than okay. Just...nervous. We haven’t been with her by ourselves yet. I don’t want her to get hurt or anything.” Tony rubbed his back soothingly but rolled his eyes at his overprotective mother hen habits. 

“Steve, its a baby. All babies do is fall, and get hurt. You saw the bandaid on her leg a week ago, she’s naturally clumsy. They all are.” Tony pointed out as he leaned out of the hug. Steve chuckled.

“Maybe I am being a little too uptight.” He replied, cheeks pinking as Tony nudged him playfully. The engineer carried his plate over to the sink, chugged the last bit of his coffee, and eyed the time on his watch before turning to his lover. 

“I’m going to go ahead and change into something comfortable. I should be ready in just a couple minutes and then we should head out. It’s a 30-minute ride and I don’t want us to be late.” The shorter man disappeared into the hallway and returned soon after, wearing jeans, black tennis shoes, and a simple blue t-shirt. “Alright, let’s head out.” Steve nearly shot to his feet to meet Tony, slipping his shoes on at the door and looking over himself one more time. Tony was close behind, sliding a pair of ombre, orange-tinted shades onto his face.

The car ride was a quiet one. In all honesty, Tony was falling asleep. He’d spent most of the night in the lab, mostly because he needed to keep his mind off of the kid to keep from having an anxiety attack. He was doing a damn good job too since Steve hadn’t picked up on the couple of time Tony’s hand shook while they rode. He closed his eyes and recounted everything he’d done last night to keep his mind busy. Tony spent upwards of 7 hours rewriting code for a new repulsor for another suit, and another 3 hours just working on paperwork Pepper had delivered two weeks ago. Steve noticed his eyes slipping shut every now and again and smiled softly. He pulled Tony into him, causing the engineer to sign and lean his head into his shoulder. 

“You really need to start sleeping more.” Steve chided, leaning his head into the downy mess of Tony’s hair. He just mumbled something quietly and dozed off. When they arrived, Steve tapped Tony to wake him up. The loving couple headed straight in. The desk clerk handed them a sign-out sheet to fill out, and once it was completed, she paged Olivia, who carried a rather upset looking Ellie out on her hip. The young blonde smiled sadly. 

“Good morning! Ellie is a little grumpy today. She didn’t get much sleep because her molars are coming in and it’s been agony for her.” The dark-haired child was in fact, rubbing her eyes tiredly with an annoyed look on her face. Steve cocked a brow. He’d never seen her look like that before. He and Tony locked eyes as Olivia shifted a small pink polka dot bag. “Here are some things you might need. She’s got some medication for her gums, a couple frozen teethers, and her favorite blanket. We just gave her some of the pain medication, but it may take a bit for it to take effect.” She listed, handing the bag off to Steve, who took it with a small smile and a thank you. “If you need anything at all, please don’t hesitate to give us a call. We’ll see you guys at 6!” Steve stood up and gently took Ellie into his arms, running a hand down her back slowly and adjusting the little rainbow dress she was wearing. 

“Thanks. We’ll see you tonight.” Tony replied, nodding and heading out after his boyfriend. Ellie leaned her head on Steve’s shoulder, still looking exhausted and irritated. Tony frowned a bit as the two of them closed in on the car. 

“You poor thing. Does your mouth still hurt? Maybe we shouldn’t go to the park Tony. She looks too tired.” Steve fussed shifting his hold on her as they reached the car.

“Okay, no park. What should we do instead?” Tony asked, opening the door for Steve who gently put Ellie into a bright pink and black car seat Happy had put into place while the two went in to get her. He clicked the six-point harness together and gave her a pat on the head. She leaned into his hand, with a quiet whimper. Steve frowned; she was abnormally warm. 

“There isn’t much we can do. Maybe we should just head back to the tower for a quiet afternoon and give her lots of cuddles and some ice for her gums.” Steve said sitting down and frowning at Tony. Tony frowned back and climbed into the other side, telling Happy to head back to the tower. Both men looked over Ellie, who chewed restlessly on her hand, cheeks tinged pink. Steve smiled sadly at her and ran his fingers through her short, brown locks. Tony also looked her over, mouth crooked to the side and eyebrows drawn together. “We’ll make a whole thing of it. We can get some ice cream, and watch some movies and get some quality time in.” 

“Yeah, that doesn’t sound too bad. I wanted to wait for her to meet some of the team...but I guess this is as good as a time as any.” Tony pointed out, still looking at her sympathetically. The rest of the ride was oddly quiet, other than the occasional grumbles and whimpers from Ellie as she tried to soothe her aching mouth. Steve rubbed her stomach gently, and to his surprise, Ellie reached out a chubby little hand and grabbed Tony’s finger as he scrolled through his phone, checking his email most likely. The brunette man looked at her in confusion for a moment, before smiling softly and holding her tiny hand in his. It was odd; almost like her hand belonged there, and it seemed to put her at ease a bit, since she closed her eyes and huffed, slipping her other hand from her mouth and placing it lazily on her lap. Steve resisted the urge to coo over them both since he knew the second he did, Tony would most likely retract into his tough persona. 

By the time they pulled into the parking garage, Ellie had surprisingly dozed off, still holding the billionaire's calloused finger. Tony continued scrolling through various notifications, looking uncharacteristically domestic as he held onto the toddler’s hand. Steve couldn’t wipe the grin off his face as he reached over to tap his boyfriend on the shoulder. 

“Hey...we’re here Mr. Stark.” Steve whispered out the common nickname he used to tease Tony when he was in a playful mood. The man in question’s head snapped up to look at him before looking down to Ellie and thinking for a moment. 

“Well, should we wake her?” Tony murmured back, absently rubbing his thumb over her closed hand as she snored softly. Steve leaned back and quickly shook his head. 

“God no. I’ll carry her in, you just get her bag. We’ll go to our floor and she can meet everyone when she wakes up.” he muttered back quietly. Steve gingerly undid her car seat strap, holding his breath when she stirred for a split second, slowly settling back to sleep after a couple seconds. He breathed a sigh of relief. Tony opened his door, holding both bags in his hand and looking concerned. His boyfriend climbed out, and reached in, gently picking Ellie up and leaning her head on his shoulder. Again, she adjusted herself, stuck a thumb in her mouth, and easily settled. The pair carried her in, after Steve thanked Happy softly, and took the elevator up to their shared floor. 

“Where are we going, the nursery or our room?” Tony asked quietly. Steve gestured to the side of the hall with their room and Tony lead the way. He pulled the sheets back, and Steve slowly laid her down into the sheets. Ellie whimpered, squirming for a moment as her thumb slipped from her mouth. Steve quickly reached forward, shushing her, and rubbing her tummy. 

“It’s okay Ellie. I’m not going to leave you.” Steve whispered. Tony reached over from the other side of the bed and placed a pink pacifier decorated in pastel flowers between her lips. She calmed almost instantly, and the two men exhaled loudly before locking eyes. Both of them chuckled as they watched the pacifier bobbing in and out of her mouth and her face relax. Steve nudged him playfully.  
“Look at you, coming in to save the day.” Steve mumbled with a pleased grin settling over his lips. Tony’s chest puffed, a cocky smile coming on his face. He shrugged, smirking at his partner. 

“What can I say? Those parenting books were good for something after all.” He bragged, making Steve roll his eyes. Tony gestured to the bed, and the two men kicked off their shoes and laid down next to their charge. “So this is the life, huh? Being a dad isn’t so hard.” 

“We’ve been with her alone for an hour Tony.” Steve chided, tsking as he rolled on his side and looked down at Ellie lovingly. “Just look at her. She’s perfect.” Tony did the same, leaning on his head on his arm and taking it all in. Never in his wildest dreams did he think he and Steve would be laying in the same bed with a toddler sleeping between them. Then again, he never thought that he and Steve would be in a relationship. In a very, un-Tony-like action, he reached over and gently placed his hand on Steve’s face. 

“You know I love you right?” Tony said, his deep hazel eyes staring directly into Steve’s, making the blonde blush heavily. “I love you Steve Rogers.” Tony voiced. 

In all of the 3 years they’d been together, Tony had only said he loved him without prompting, 5 times, this being the fifth. Steve’s eyes watered as Tony just stared at him lovingly, not needing to say another word. Steve had never been this happy in his life.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for reading! I'd love any sort of feedback! I'll be posting an extra tidbit on my tumblr:  
> [here.](https://honkmyhorse.tumblr.com/)
> 
> Quick question, would you guys prefer I update twice a week?
> 
> Feel free to send me an ask about anything! I appreciate you all!


	6. Chapter 6: Battle Cry

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Tony gets a wake-up call about babies. Ellie meets some more of her potential Superfamily.

Chapter 6: Battle Cry

Steve’s sensitive ears easily picked up the sounds of rustling blankets and the quiet snuffles coming from beneath the duvet. He shot up, blue eyes snapping open in panic when he realized he and Tony had fallen asleep after their heartfelt moment. He looked down and saw the squirming lump beneath the blanket and couldn't help the playful smile coming onto his face. 

“Oh no, where could Ellie be?” He asked aloud. The bundle giggled and went slack underneath the blankets as she laid flat. “Could she be...under the bed?” He questioned, slipping off of the bed and pretending to look around the room. “Hmmm..she isn’t under there. I wonder if she’s in the….closet?” More giggling came from under the blankets as he walked over to the closet door and opened it. “Nope, she’s not there. I wonder…” slowly he snuck back over to the bed and yanked the covers forward, startling Tony and revealing Ellie, who was laughing so hard, her eyes were squeezed tight and she was beaming, chubby cheeks a bright scarlet. “There she is!” he exclaimed, easily scooping her up and tossing her up in the air. “Were you hiding under the blankets? You mischevious little thing you.” Despite being still startled, Tony breathed out a heavy sigh, unable to hold back the grin overtaking his handsome features. He ran a hand down his face as he sighed, lips tugged into a grin. 

“You scared the shit outta me.” Tony breathed, still smiling. Steve frowned at him easily catching Ellie, who was still squealing out high pitched peals of laughter. 

“Language. We’re in the company of” he paused to turn his face back to Ellie and smiled again, “The cutest little angel I’ve ever met in my whole entire life!” Steve tossed her up again for good measure, catching her securely in his hands. Ellie’s laughter slowly died down as Steve rubbed her back, blue eyes shining affectionately. Tony yawned loudly, ruining the moment and Steve couldn’t help but roll his eyes. 

“Up!” Ellie squeals excitedly, smiling brightly at Steve and flinging her arms up dramatically. The two men quickly looked at each other. 

“I...didn’t know Ellie could talk.” Steve said, looking at her with wide eyes. Tony came over slowly, looking at Steve, then Ellie. 

“What if that was her first word?” Tony guessed. Steve looked at him eyes growing wider at the possibility. 

“That…would mean she said her first word, to us.” Steve managed to croak out in astonishment. Tony looked at Ellie in disbelief. 

“Can you say it again? Say, up Ellie.” Tony commanded. The toddler blinked her big gray eyes at him in confusion. “C’mon kid. Up. Maybe she’ll say it if you do it again.” Tony wondered, shooting Steve a look. Steve complied, tossing her up a few feet and listening to her delighted giggles as she landed in his arms again. The pair waited as her laughter quieted again, and silence fell over them. Ellie stared at Steve, still grinning like she’d won the lottery, as the two men stared at her. She looked between them, looking slightly confused. “Alright, I give up. I’m starving. Let’s get lunch.” Tony says impatiently, eyes looking over to the clock sitting on the dresser, before heading out of the room. Steve adjusts her on his hip and pauses. 

“Woah, hold on Tony.” Steve said, his tone suddenly serious. Tony spun on his heels and turned to face them again, leaning against the door frame. Steve lifted her under the arms and held her above his head. He sniffed her little tush and recoiled. Tony cringed as well and quickly put his finger to his nose. 

“Not it.” He exclaimed, looking wary.

Ellie copied him and mumbled. “Nariz.” Steve chuckled at her attempt to parrot him, but couldn’t resist the eye roll he felt coming on at Tony.

“Fine. We’ll alternate. It’s your turn next time.” Steve said simply, scooching past Tony and walking into the nursery. Thankfully, Steve had thought ahead and purchased a changing table, which he had customized with little prancing unicorns around the base. “I’m gonna change your little tush, and then we’ll have lunch and you can meet some of our friends.” Steve singsonged at her, tickling her tummy. Ellie squirmed in his hold, eyes twinkling with happiness.

“You might need this old man.” Tony interrupted, offering her pink backpack. Steve blinked at him for a moment and chuckled as his cheeks pinked visibly. 

“Oh. Thanks, honey.” Steve replied, ignoring the teasing nickname, and taking the bag. “You might as well watch and learn.” Steve reached into the bag and dug around for a minute, pulling out a plush ball with bells in it. “Here you go, Ellie. Something to keep you busy.” Steve cooed, smiling as she took the ball from his hands and shook it in her hands, enjoying the melodic tinkling of the bells and squealed. “Tony, you’re watching right?” 

“You didn’t even do anything yet.” Tony joked, leaning against the wall. Steve shot him an annoyed look and pulled the skirt portion of her dress up and tugged down the little pink shorts she was wearing underneath. 

“I did. I gave her a toy. Per…” he paused as he put her shorts aside and thought for a moment. “One of the child-rearing books I read, it helps keep toddlers still because they like to squirm around.” Tony grunted in acknowledgment, as he watched Steve easily removed the soiled diaper and delicately redressed her. The blonde pulled her up and set her on her feet to adjust her dress. “There. All done.” He stated proudly. Ellie leaned forward and planted a sloppy kiss on Steve’s forehead, making him beam. He cooed at her picking her up and rubbing his nose on hers. “You’re so sweet!” he whispered to her as he peppered her face in kisses, making all her giggle wildly and try and wiggle away. 

“Alright, love birds. I’m going to get a cavity if I keep looking at all this sappy snuggling. Let’s eat.” Steve rolled his eyes. 

“Someone sounds jealous.” he teased, nudging Tony’s side as he handed Ellie over to him. 

“I am not jealous. It’s plainly obvious I’m Ellie’s favorite.” Tony stated as he set Ellie on his hip.

“Yeah, okay babe.”  
____  
The main floor was oddly populated today. Natasha, Bruce, and Clint were all sitting at the large table in the kitchen, discussing something and eating grilled cheese sandwiches and tomato soup. Tony carried Ellie into the area and pulled a chair from the table, turned it backward, and plopped himself down with a smirk on his face. Ellie’s big gray eyes scanned over the others at the table curiously. All three heads snapped up at looked at the new arrivals. 

“Natasha, Banner, Bird Brain, I’d like you to meet Ellie.” He addressed cockily, setting her feet on his legs so she could stand. Ellie blinked at them, head cocked a bit to the side. “Well are you going to say hi or what kid?” he questioned. She grinned and sent an excited wave their way. Natasha smiled, aweing over her and reaching out to hold her.

“Well, what are you waiting for, let me hold her.” Natasha said, reaching over to him. Tony playfully stuck out his tongue. 

“Nope. I’m not sharing.” He huffed, a protective hand settling around her stomach. Ellie looked back at him in confusion.

Natasha sarcastically raised her eyebrows and she smirked when Ellie politely reached out to her. “Ellie would like you to share.” She demurred, gently taking the toddler from his arms before he could protest, leaving Tony to pout. Steve busied himself, taking a sandwich from the table, removing the crust, and taking out an apple from the fruit bowl on the counter. He sliced both into tiny pieces and carried the plastic plate over to the table as Natasha smoothed Ellie’s brown hair and affectionately smiled at her. Ellie stared curiously at Steve watching him bustle around the kitchen. “Do you see Steve? He’s fixing you a snack!” Natasha pointed out in a high pitched voice as she bounced her on her knee. “That’s Clint, and this is Bruce.” The toddler’s gray eyes scanned them as Natasha pointed red, well-manicured nails at the two men. Bruce gently reached out to take one of her chubby hands and she babbled at him and giggled.

“So how’s it been, being parents and all?” Clint asked, watching Bruce and Ellie for a moment before turning to Tony. Tony smirked pridefully. 

“It’s been nothing but smooth sailing. She hasn’t cried even once. She even took a nap without a fuss, we didn’t even do anything but sit her in the car. She’s an angel.” He bragged. Bruce looked at him skeptically taking a bite of his grilled cheese sandwich, still holding her little hand in his.

“Tony, how long have you had her? A couple of hours? Babies are super temperamental. The littlest thing could set her off.” He said simply, cocking a brow.

Tony waved him off. “Ellie is the most even-tempered kid I’ve ever seen. I’ve never even seen her cry.” Clint rolled his eyes, already annoyed with him. Steve sets the plate down on the table and held his hands out. 

“Mind if I have her back for a moment?” Steve asks quietly, smiling at Ellie as she eyes the plate, gray eyes sparkling with curiosity. The spy hands her over gently as Steve sits in a chair, holding Ellie on his lap and raising his knee so she’s table level. “Okay, go for it kiddo.” Tiny chubby hands reach out and pinch up a piece of apple, which she quickly shoved in her mouth with fervor. They watch her chew as she reaches for another. 

“See, she even eats well. Went straight for the fruit. What a straight arrow kid.” Tony mentioned, crossing his arms over his chest in triumph. Steve ignored him, reaching for his own sandwich as Bruce, Clint, and Natasha started their conversation back up. Tony continued gushing over Ellie as she ate, though she was very much ignoring him and focusing purely on the food in front of her. Tony eventually reached over and grabbed a sandwich of his own, still beaming with pride at Ellie. 

Steve felt Ellie suddenly flinch in his lap and looked down at her in confusion. “What’s up little one?” he asked quietly. She sniffled, gray eyes filling with tears. Tony looked at her with wide eyes. 

“Woah, Woah kid, she’s about to cry Steve.” he rushed out, reaching over and opening his arms for her. Steve stood up, also looking panicked as he handed her to him. Tony patted her back as the tears finally spilled over and ran down her cheeks. 

“Are you choking? Oh god, Tony, she’s choking.” Steve nearly screamed. “Turn her upside down!” 

“That’s not how you do the Heimlich on a baby you have to pat their backs!” Tony argued, patting her back a bit harder, sending Ellie into confused wails as she held her cheek. 

“No, squeeze around her middle like this!” Bruce interjected, suddenly at the couples sides and wiggling his arms between them in an attempt to help. Natasha and Clint shared a look. 

“How long do you think it will take them to realize she’s not choking?” Clint asked, leaning his head on his hand while he watched the chaos unfold in front of them. Natasha snorted and mumbled something in Russian under her breath.

“They’re going to scare the shit out of her if they don’t stop.” She grumbled, standing to her feet and sauntering over to easily pluck the toddler from their grasp. Ellie continued wailing, snuggling her damp, beet red face into the safety of Natasha’s neck. “She’s not choking.” She declared, rubbing Ellie’s back in soothing circles and bouncing her gently. “She must’ve bitten down on something hard. She’s holding her cheek for God’s sake.” Three pairs of eyes blinked at her in recognition. She turned so they could get a glimpse and surely enough, her tiny hand was still pressed against her chubby cheek. Steve sighed hard and ran a hand down his face. 

“I completely forgot. She’s teething.” He mumbled to himself. “Her back teeth are coming in and chewing on the apple must’ve hurt.” Natasha rolled her eyes. 

“Try not to jump to conclusions next time. That goes for all three of you.” She chastised. “C’mon lets get something cold for those poor gums, bednyaga..” Ellie’s cries shifted down into long whines and loud pants as she continued holding her cheek. Natasha dug through the freezer and found her target, strawberry lemonade popsicles. “Here little lady, let's eat this.” She removed the plastic and sat on a chair, offering the frozen treat to the toddler who immediately took it and shakily shoved it in her mouth, sighing as she rested it on her aching gums. 

“The medication they gave her this morning must’ve worn off...I’ll go up and get her some more.” Steve mumbled, shuffling over to the elevator. Tony and Bruce sat back down, both looking a bit sheepish. 

“In those kinds of situations, you have to keep a level head. If you panic, she’ll sense you’re upset and you’ll just upset her more, on top of whatever may be wrong. Kids are emotional beings. They base their feelings off of those around them.” Natasha lectured as Ellie leaned back into her chest, getting spots of pink popsicle on her hands. Clint took the opportunity to sneak out, heading toward the elevator as well. Steve returned, a bottle of children’s Motrin in one hand and a teether in the other. He silently sat the bottle on the table and used the tiny syringe to suction out the recommended amount per the instructions Ms. Honey had generously taped to the cap. Steve screwed the cap back into place and brought over the full syringe. 

“Should I…?” he asked quietly, almost like an intimidated child, as he leaned toward Natasha. She easily handed her to him, instructing him to sit her on the table so she was sitting straight up. Steve did as he was told and sat Ellie on the table as she continued to happily suckle at her popsicle. “Okay, kiddo. You just have to take your pain medicine so your mouth will feel better again.” he whispered, slipping the tip of the syringe between her popsicle stained lips. Ellie scrunched up her face in confusion but allowed Steve to press the plunger down. Surprisingly, she barely flinched and swallowed the medication along with a bit of popsicle. “You’re such a good girl. I’m sorry we startled you.” He said, patting her head affectionately. “We’ll get better. We’re just a little nervous is all.” Ellie blinked at him and removed the half melted remnants of her frozen treat to offer some to him with a sweet smile. Steve couldn’t resist smiling back.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks, guys for the continued support! I decided that for now, we're going to keep it to one chapter per week because school is kicking my ass. I may post another chapter this week because my birthday was Saturday and I had some extra time to get more ahead in my writing. I also just want you guys to know that there are three more works I am in the midst of putting together that are based off this fic that I just can't post yet, including one with a lot of StevexBucky and Peter being a really cute older brother (is that a spoiler?).
> 
> As usual, the extra tidbit will be on my tumblr which you can find [here.](https://honkmyhorse.tumblr.com/)
> 
> Also, Natasha called Ellie sweetie in Russian.


	7. Chapter 7: I'll Come Back

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> An unexpected visitor makes an appearance. Ellie learns her place in Tony and Steve's lives.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Warning: I was really sick so this has not gone through my normal set of parameters for editing. I apologize for any grammatical, written, spelling, or contextual errors!

Chapter 7: I'll Come Back  
The time for her to return to the adoption center came a lot quicker than either dad wanted. Ellie had settled in comfortably between Steve and Tony on the couch, big gray eyes drawn to the TV screen as it played Moana. Ellie sucked on ice chips to soothe the pain in her gums, happily humming along to the various songs in the movie. By the time it was coming to an end, it was nearly 5:15. 

“Ya know, kids movies aren’t so bad.” Tony yawned, standing up to stretch. Steve snorted and nudged him playfully as he stood up. Ellie looked between them, a big piece of ice protruding from her lips. 

“Okay, Ellie. It’s about time we get you back.” Steve explained softly as he picked the girl up and settled her on his hip. She frowned at him. The men eyed each other. “It’s okay. We’ll come back next week and we’ll do something fun this time. Maybe the beach! Do you like the ocean? There are fish and seashells…” Steve rambled, carrying her over to the elevators. He pressed the button to head back down to the garage as Tony sent Happy a quick text and slipped into the elevator with him. 

“Yeah, I’ll take you out on a big boat. How does that sound?” Tony added, patting her back. Ellie continued to frown and leaned her head on Steve’s shoulder and popping her thumb into her mouth. “It’ll be great kid.” 

The ride was silent. Ellie was visibly sulking, a pout settling on her chubby features. Steve and Tony both sat awkwardly on either side of her, Tony messed around with his phone to distract himself from the nearly visible tension in the backseat. As they pulled into a parking space, Steve reached for the small bag of items the agency had sent with her and Tony undid the car seat straps. Ellie’s gray eyes stayed locked on him, almost accusingly (or maybe he was just worked up?). He set her on the hood and both he and Steve stood in front of her for a moment, making the toddler slightly confused. Steve spoke up first. 

“Ellie, I want you to know that we did really have a lot of fun today. And I want you to know that both Tony and I…” he nervously shot a look over to his boyfriend who immediately reached over and grabbed his hand to soothe his nerves. 

“Look, what he’s trying to say is, we both are sure we want to be your dads. And to prove this wasn’t some, one day trip thing,” Tony paused, allowing Steve to pull the brown stuffed rabbit from a bag and offer it to her. Instantly, a smile spreads out across her face. 

“I…” Steve looked at Tony and smiled a bit harder, handing her the toy. “We got you this. As proof that we plan to do all the work, it takes to not only be good dads but to be the best dads. So, we’re going to file to officially be your foster parents. It’s going to take some time, but before long, you’ll be able to come home with us for good.” He says, leaning on the frame of the car door. Ellie holds the stuffed rabbit close to her, armed wrapped around its neck tightly as she beams down at him like he’s hung the moon.

“But for now...you have to go back. Next time, you can stay for the wholeeee night and the day after too.” Tony explains, plucking her from the top of the car and placing on her feet. Ellie holds her rabbit tightly, still beaming as Tony gives her a gentle nudge toward the front door. Steve opens the door for them and Ellie excitedly bounces straight up to the front desk. 

“Welcome back! Is that a new bunny Ellie?” the front desk woman asked politely. “I bet your guest will be happy to see you’re feeling better!” she said, picking up the phone. Tony and Steve looked at each other in slight confusion. She placed the phone back down and offered the same sign in slip on the clipboard back to Steve. 

 

“Ellie has a guest?” Steve asked, purely curious. If there was another couple looking to adopt her, surely the agency would have told them no, right? Steve frowned. The receptionist waved him off, smiling. 

“Well, I don’t want to ruin the surprise. Ah, here they are now.” Just then, Ms. Honey and a tall woman in a black military jacket, white dress pants, perfectly shined black shoes, with her hair perfectly slicked back into a bun and sharp brown eyes rounded the corner. Ellie instantly bolted over, beaming even wider. 

“MEESHA MEESHA!” The tall woman smiled back and leaned down to scoop her up. She held her tightly in her arms, hands snaking into the child’s curls as she held her close. Steve looked concerned as he set the clipboard back down. 

“It’s so good to see you ‘Nora.” she said, barely above a whisper as she rubbed her hand up and down the squealing toddler’s back. 

Ms. Honey gently placed a hand on her shoulder. 

“Marcellina.” the older woman chuckled, gesturing toward Steve and Tony. 

“Oh. I apologize. I lost my head for a second there.” Marcellina lamented, smile wiping away to a stern and emotionless expression. She stepped forward, Ellie still wriggling in her grasp from excitement, while awkwardly snuggling her. “Marcellina Gordon. I’m Elenora’s older sister.” Then it clicked for Tony. He smiled politely. Of course, he’d done his research. He knew all about Marcellina and her spotless past. Not even a dress code violation in all her years of schooling or detention. If you looked up straight arrow, Marcellina Gordon’s picture would be printed right among the words. Steve eyed the expression on Tony’s face and knew that he must’ve done his background research into her, otherwise he’d be putting on his cautious, all business smirk. 

“Tony Stark.” he declared. They shook hands, staring each other down as if in some sort of competition. “This is my partn-”

“Steve Rogers, right? It’s a pleasure to meet you both.” she said simply, brown eyes hard as diamonds. She shook Steve’s hand with equal amounts of vigor and precise execution that it almost felt robotic.”As much as I would love to stay and chit chat, it is getting close to Nora’s bedtime. I am more than willing to speak with you both once she is down for the night. Right now saying goodbye to mi hermanita is my main mission.” For a moment her eyes softened and a grin melted onto her features, showing off well-placed dimples and a perfect set of teeth beneath. She smoothed Ellie’s hair lovingly and shifted her on her hip. “Bien aqui. Let's get ready for sleep, hm?” Ms. Honey stepped to the side and allowed both Marcellina and Ellie to pass, as the elder whispered something to her in Spanish, sending the toddler into loud laughter. 

So, they waited. Tony and Steve decided to sit out back on a swinging bench, Steve’s head leaned into Tony’s shoulder. 

“What do you know.” Steve all but whispered. Tony laughed quietly, pushing his feet against the concrete to propel the bench backward. The crickets chirped nearby as a cool breeze blew over them. 

“She’s Ellie’s older sister.” Tony chortled, as they rocked back and forth, enjoying the summer night's wind. Steve popped his thigh, stopping Tony’s laughter. “Ouch! That hurts. Not all of us are impenetrable ya know.” Steve snorts as Tony runs his hands over the offended area. After a moment of grumbling, he speaks up. “She’s 23. Fresh out of PLC. She’s a-”

“Linguistics and Military science major with a minor in mathematics. If you wanted to know, I would have been happy to tell you.” Marcellina said, shutting the screen door gently behind her and taking a seat on an adjacent bench. Steve shot up at the quick voice, suddenly tense. “Don’t worry. I like that you did your research. Shows you care. And of course, because you’re Tony Stark you’d be able to find out those kinds of things.” Carefully, she reaches into her back pocket to take out a set of keys. She tosses them to Steve. “That’s the key to the storage unit with my parent’s belongings in it. It’s no bigger than a closet, but I kept the things that I think remind Ellie of home the most. I want her to grow up with her heritage and her identity.” She sighs and leans back to close her eyes for a moment. “Ask whatever you want.” 

“What really happened to your parents?” Tony prods. Steve huffs out a disapproving breath, mumbles his name with a hiss because it’s inappropriate, and nudges him hard in the ribs. Marcellina waves him off.

“It’s okay. I did say anything after all.” Marcellina took a deep breath and opened her eyes to peer up at the stars before she spoke “Let’s just start at the beginning, shall we?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Wow. I cannot believe 1,000+ people have read this story. I am super stoked to keep it up. I apologize for the late upload, I have been extremely sick all week and I did not have the energy to do much of anything, other than sleep. Today I finally had enough energy to put this together, since I have been wanting to introduce Marcellina for a good minute. 
> 
> As usual the tidbit will be up on tumblr, as well as a special little gift for you guys since I was a dummy who got sick and couldn't upload on time. Thank you so much for your support! You can find my tumblr [here](https://www.tumblr.com/blog/honkmyhorse)


	8. Chapter 8: When you Call Me

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Marcellina tells Tony and Steve the whole story, from the top this time.

Marcellina lit a cigarette and took a long drag, blowing the smoke away from the two men seated in next to her. With a small noise to clear her throat, she began. 

“My mom was born in Mexico. Typical story. Poor kid makes it big off of some kind of talent, family buys their way to the states, the kid works their ass off and lives a happy life for awhile. My mom was no different. She played the Oboe amazingly.” she stopped to laugh. “Of all things, the Oboe. My abuelo, that’s grandfather, found it in a market for cheap. He cleaned it up as best as he could and gave it to my mom. My mom learned by listening and could mimic any melody she heard. It took her to California when she turned 14. And from there all across the United States to different orchestras. She went back home in her 20’s and she helped the whole neighborhood come up and got married to my dad. He and my mom never really got along because she yearned to travel and he wanted to stay home and monitor the stupid farm. My mom convinced him to give the farm to one of his nephews.They moved to Florida, where I was born when my mom was 26. She and my dad never got over the fact that he lost his farm and a part of himself. They fought and eventually broke up. My mom kept living. We moved all over then. I basically lived out of a damned hotel room or a tour bus, but my mom saw that wasn’t a life for a young kid, so she bought an actual house here when I was 9 and really settled down. She played in the Philharmonic, taught lessons in her spare time to unfortunate kids, did concerts for schools and gave up so much more for me. She met Christopher, Nora’s dad when I was 15. We got along surprisingly well and for the first time in a long time, I felt like I had a real family. I got good grades, stayed out of trouble, graduated and went to Columbia. It was the summer before my junior year.” Marcellina paused for a moment to take a few more drags. Her dark brown eyes settled on the window to the infant room for a moment before she breathed out and leaned back into the hard wood of the bench behind her.

“Take your time.” Steve reassured, now sitting straight up to listen. The brunette chuckled.  
“I wish I could, but I have somewhere to be. Anyway, that summer we went to Hawaii for my birthday, Chris’ treat. When we got back, mom got really sick all of a sudden. And that was the way she stayed for a few months. Always sore, swollen, and tired. One morning in January, she said her back ached so back, she felt like she was being ripped in two. Chris was away for work, so I took her into the hospital, even though my mom hated hospitals. Two hours later, I had a baby sister.” The sounds of a summer night washed over them as Marcellina stopped talking again. She stubbed her cigarette out on the arm of the bench, brushed away the ash and found a small trash can to deposit the butt into before she sat down again. 

“We were so happy. And damn surprised. My mom was in her 40’s. Sure, Chris was only 37, but never did any of us imagine they’d have a kid. But there she was. 6 pounds of fury. She came out screaming her head off and kicking, almost like she wanted to make up for 8 months of silence. Chris was upset he didn’t get to be there, but he never put her down when he got home. He adored Nora. He and mom both. They agreed to raise her catholic for mom’s sake, and bilingual, also for mom’s sake. She gets that passive, go with the flow mentality from Chris. She was an easy baby. It only took her a month to sleep through the night. She ate well and was always nothing but smiles and so cuddly. She loved to cuddle and watch soaps with mom. “ She smiled fondly and tilted her head to look up at the stars. 

“My father was a marine, so of course I chose to follow his footsteps after I got my degree... I blame myself for the fact that Nora has to be in your care. If I had not been so damned stubborn and just waited. Two weeks after I signed my papers my parents died and now Nora is in this situation.” Her view of the stars blurred as the tears from earlier welled up again. This was the right thing to do. She knew that. It was just...hard to let go. 

Suddenly the bench shifted and there was a warm hand resting on her shoulder. She tilted her head back down and came face to face with Steve’s warm blue eyes staring back into hers. She’s looked to quick. The tears began to fall without her consent. “I want you to know that there is nothing wrong with following your dreams. Or sticking to your plans. No matter what we do there will always be things that get in the way of what we want. This was just a hurtle, both for you and Ellie. Both Tony and I want to give Ellie a good life. We want to raise her around friends and family.” 

“He’s right ya know. We both just want what's best for her. And spending the rest of her days cooped up here when she could be exploring the world out there is a pretty shitty way to spend it, don’t you think?” 

Marcellina heaved a sigh. “I know it is. I hate that I can’t be the one to give it to her, because I’m stubborn. I have to be gone for the next six months, down in Quantico. I know that the foster parent decision will be made long before those 6 months are up, so I do ask that you send me pictures at least.” She handed over a card with her name and number printed in simple black ink on a pale pink background. Quickly, she checked her watch and stood to her feet. “I have to head out if I want to make it to my plane on time. Can I also ask...that you allow Ellie to use her spanish more? Maybe you guys have a friend or something who could help her practice, but my mom wanted her to be bilingual.” Marcellina physically bit her lip in apprehension as she looked between the couple. Steve stammered. He couldn’t think of anyone he knew that spoke a lick of spanish. Russian? Yeah. Italian. Yes. Spanish? Not one. Tony nodded. 

“Done and done. No need to worry about that.” The brunette smiled. 

“Thanks. Well...I hope to hear from you soon. Thank you for taking care of my sister and caring for her so much. It means more than you could ever imagine.” She headed toward the gate to the yard instead of the back door. Steve quickly shot up and rushed to her side. Tony watched as the blond hugged her tightly, said something to her that made her laugh and headed back to him. 

“What was that all about?” Tony asked. Steve shrugged, wrapping his arm around his partner and leading him back into the nursery as quietly as he could.

“Ellie does talk. Just mostly in Spanish.” 

Tony nodded his head in understanding as the pair took a couple seconds to look over to Ellie’s crib. The toddler was completely tuckered out and lying on her stomach with her face tilted awkwardly to the side. Her red blanket had begun to wrap around her legs, and surely enough, the brown bunny was tucked into the crook of her arm. Steve tiptoed over, unwound her from her blanket confides and re-tucked her in. Both he and Tony left as quietly as they could, but not without placing a goodbye kiss on her forehead.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Alright, you guys can roast me for being a shit bag and posting this chapter MONDO late. BUT to apologize, again, I want to do something special this week. Since I'm on Spring Break and I have no life and did not go home, I'm going to put up a straw poll every day on Tumblr. You guys will have the chance to decide if I post a chapter of the story OR a one-shot set in the future (even though I said I would not post one-shots, because they could potentially spoil upcoming parts of the story) and it'll be posted at night. That means either a chapter or a one-shot every day! Woo! As a result, there isn't a tidbit for this chapter (you can kill me now lol). Anyway, as usual, thanks for the support! Here is my Tumblr. Tomorrow's straw poll will be up around 11 AM, Eastern Time. 
> 
> You can find my tumblr, [here](https://stonyinmyheart.tumblr.com/).


	9. Chapter 9: Everything's Changing

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The team gets some much-needed beach R&R. Ellie experiences the ocean.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Wanna connect with me? You can find my tumblr [here.](https://stonyinmyheart.tumblr.com/) Feel free to send questions, comments or concerns!

“Can you hand me a light?” 

“Light, right.” Quickly, Peter handed over the flashlight. Tony clicked it on and looked inside the suit, sighing when he noticed the issue. 

“Just like I thought. It’s a leak from one of the heating coils.” He sighed and set the flashlight on the workbench. “Do you think you could replace it without my help?” Tony shot him a playful smirk, making the young boy stiffen, face going serious quickly. 

“Of course Mr. Stark.” The teen replied, scurrying off to dig through one of the storage cabinets nearby. Tony sipped coffee from a SI mug and turned his chair around so he could pull some plans up on his hologram screen. 

“Next we should work on the car seat. Adding a gyroscope would really use the kinetic energy of the car to its full potential and keep kids from being jostled while sleeping or eating in the car.” Tony rambled to himself, already scribbling at a hologram blueprint. He could hear Peter quietly tinkering away behind him, but suddenly he stopped. 

“Mr. Stark?” Peter stammered quietly. Tony hummed, leaning back against his chair, but not turning to face the young teen. “Can I ask you a question?” 

“Yeah?” 

“Are you excited to be a dad?” He asked, leaning against the workbench as he faced his mentor’s back. Tony froze, caught off guard by the random question. 

“I- well you see...It’s complicated Pete. Excited is not exactly the word I would use for how I’m feeling about it.” Tony stuttered, letting out a breath he didn’t know he was holding. “Steve is excited to be a dad.” Steve was beyond excited. He was elated. Ever since he had received Marcellina’s blessing of sorts, he’d been texting her nonstop to ask her opinion as they built up her wardrobe and toy collection. He was determined to be a good dad, and the impending beach trip and official foster hearing had put him on edge. The star-spangled man with a plan was a star-spangled mess. 

“Well, what’re you?” Peter questioned, twirling a screwdriver between his fingers dexterously. 

Nervous. Terrified. Unsure. Perplexed.

Oh god was Tony nervous to actually be a dad. Sure, he could play with the kid for an hour and ship her back off to the adoption center, no problem. But this wasn’t temporary. He would have to spend hours playing with the kid and consoling tears and making lunches and helping with homework and cleaning up vomit at 3 AM when she’d snuck a bag of marshmallows and gotten an upset stom-

“Mr. Stark, are you okay?” Peter asked, now leaning in front of his mentor, big doe eyes blinking at him and filled with concern. “You’re panting and getting all red again. Is it space? Is it the water? Just breathe with me.” The younger male instructed. This was not the first time Peter had seen Tony go into a panic attack and it surely wouldn’t be the last. He had gotten quite skilled at talking his mentor down when he got way too over his head with thoughts. 

Tony panted, running a hand down his face. He had started to sweat. “Yeah...yeah, kid I’m fine.”

“Okay. Sorry, I didn’t mean to upset you.” Peter apologized and headed back to his work station quietly busying himself with the suit again. Tony saved his previous work and leaned his head on his hands. The things he worried he would have to do, had been things his dad had hated to do when he was a child. That was more than enough to make Tony feel inadequate. Neither he nor Steve had good childhoods. Steve’s had been riddled with poverty and struggle, while his had been nothing but constant trauma and walking on eggshells around his dad and the media. How the hell were the two of them supposed to have a kid and raise it well? Parenting books and classes were one thing. What really mattered was the application of it all. How was he supposed to know he was doing anything right? Ellie was too little to tell him if he was wrong. 

“I think it’s good” Peter mumbled, head low as he looked at the tiny screws around the heating coil. Tony looked over, turning the desk chair in his direction. 

“What?” 

“I think it’s good that you’re adopting a kid with no mom and dad. I don’t know what I would have done or where I could have ended up if Aunt May hadn’t have taken me in. I think she’ll really appreciate it when she’s older. I would if I was her.” Peter said, unknowingly reassuring Tony a bit with his words. “I’m kinda jealous. I wish Aunt May would adopt a kid.” Tony snorted. 

“Why's that?”

“Well, I’ve always wanted to be an older brother. I think I’d be pretty good at it.” Peter boasted, chest puffed out and standing tall. 

“Yeah right, one shitty diaper and you’d be throwing up and wanting to back out.” Tony teased, deflating his young mentor. Peter huffed and stood up, pouting at Tony. 

“I would not. I actually like babies.” 

“Good. Then I’m sure you won’t mind hanging out with us at the beach in a couple of days.” 

“The beach, what does that have to do with anything?” 

“Ellie is staying the night, and since you want to prove you’d be a good older brother, here’s your chance to play pretend. Of course, Steve and I will be right there when you freak out if she cries.” Tony jested childishly. Peter huffed again, crossing his lanky teenage arms across his chest. 

“Fine, I’ll do it. And I’m going to be a great big brother.”

_____________________

The weekend rolled around in the blink of an eye. Steve had agreed to let Peter go, as long as he consented to being extremely gentle around Ellie since the boy was prone to tripping and falling, breaking things in the lab, and trying to show off to Tony. Natasha and Sam decided to join them, along with Pepper and Happy, bringing the beach group to 8. 

Steve went to pick Ellie up around 8, returning with the over-exuberant toddler who was contently clutching the brown rabbit and burst into the community floor, screeching in excitement. She wasn’t quite sure what she was excited for, but she was excited. Ellie passed by Peter in a blur, heading straight for the other end of the room, only to turn around and speed back to Steve's side.

“Woah, woah, slow down Ellie. Come say hi to Peter!” Steve said quietly, leading her over with his hand on her tiny head. 

“HI!” she squeaked, not particularly at anyone just yet. Steve chuckled.

“Yeah, you have to say hi to Peter, look.” Steve pointed at the couch where the teen was lounging. He quickly sat up, slid off the couch, and leaned his back into it to get down to her size. She quickly waddled up to him, grinning widely. “Say, hi Peter!” Her gray eyes locked with his and she beamed, awkwardly falling into his arms and wrapping her arms around his neck. 

“Hi!” She yelled in his ear. Peter was quick to hug her back, even though he flinched.

“Oh, uh hi Ellie.” Peter mumbled. She squirmed out of his arms and was back to running around the living room before he could even blink. Steve watched, shaking his head to himself. “Well, that was affectionate for a baby.” 

“Yeah, she seems to really like whoever she meets. Hopefully, she’ll calm down soon. She’s kind of on a bender since she normally goes out to play around this time. Do you think you could keep your eye on her for just a second? I’m going to get something for her to do and try and round up Natasha and Tony. Peter nodded, shooting to his feet. 

“Of course!” 

Steve headed up to their floor, retrieving a box of plastic blocks, a train track decorated carpet, some toy cars, and a ride on toy shaped like a lion. He could hear the shower running, so at least Tony was up. He headed back up to the communal floor, breathing out a sigh of relief when he found Ellie and Peter in the kitchen as the toddler tried to open the drawers, awkwardly tugging at the handle above her head. 

“Sorry Ellie, that's dangerous. There could be knives in there. Let’s go back to the living room. I bet your dad is back with toys much more fun than the kitchen drawers.” He chirped, easily scooping her up and carrying her to the living room, where Steve was in fact, setting up the various toys on the other side of the couch. “Woah, look at all the stuff he brought for ya!” Peter bubbled, setting her on her feet. Ellie went straight for Steve, playfully trying to climb him, as Peter sat on the couch again. 

“Look Ellie, there are some cars, and some blocks and a little scootch on toy, since you’re in a very...mobile mood.” The blond pulled her from his back and placed her on the plush patterned carpet. Ellie’s eyes scanned her options, but she went straight for the lion. “How did I know...” Steve mumbled to himself as he watched Ellie climb on and pull her little sock covered feet along the floor, only to not move anywhere. She frowned deeply, making Steve laugh. “It’s your socks love bug, they aren’t giving you any traction.” He removed them for her and she happily scooched herself across the hardwood as quickly as she could. Steve disappeared for a moment, and returned with Tony in tow, who went straight for Ellie. 

“There’s the star of the show!” he gushed, plucking her off of her lion and up into his arms. Next was Natasha, carrying a beach bag, then Pepper, Sam and Happy, all of them arriving around 9:30. Ellie was content hanging out in Tony’s arms while Happy and Steve packed the truck. On the ride to the beach, she had a snack of sliced strawberries and dry cereal with Pepper, and by the time they exited the van and stepped onto the hot sand, Ellie was red-lipped and cheery. The little family set up their towels and umbrellas far from the water’s edge, but Ellie was enthralled with the view, constantly trying to take off running toward the shore and scaring the shit out of Tony, to the point where he just refused to put her down and settled for carrying the whiny toddler on his shoulders.

“Okay, okay. Papa is going to take you to the water. Just hold on okay? Daddy is not a big fan of large bodies of water.” He soothed as Ellie squirmed and wiggled, trying to get free of his hold, occasionally holding a hand out to Natasha, who would lean over and pet her hair. Steve slathered her down in children’s sunscreen, changed her into a swim diaper and a swimsuit patterned in flamingos and palm trees and alternated between trying to console her, and wondering if she was just tired. 

“Ellie, calm down. We’re going to go to the water in just a second, okay?” he whispered, kissing her head as she continued to whimper, grumpily kicking her legs as he removed his shirt and jogging pants off to reveal his dark blue swim trunks. “Okay, okay I’m done. C’mon. Let’s go swim.” Steve and Sam held a hand each and lead her down to the surf, followed by Peter and Pepper. When they reached the crashing waves, suddenly Ellie stopped and stared at the water, almost as if it was going to eat her. Nearby, Peter ran directly into the surf and jumped as high as he could, splashing down into the water only to resurface a couple of seconds later and shake his hair from his face. Ellie watched him swim around, not too far, but not close enough either. Steve gave her an encouraging nudge. “C’mon. Let's just get our feet wet.” The trio took a few steps forward, the water barely lapping at Ellie’s tiny feet. She scrunched her toes in the wet sand and made a displeased face, immediately reaching up to be held. Steve shook his head and Sam chuckled. The blond easily lifted Ellie and set her on his hip. “Okay, I’m going to walk you into the water now. I won’t let you go.” Slowly, they entered the salty ocean water together, until the water was barely at Steve’s hips. He dipped her into the cool water a bit and she grinned at him. Peter popped out of the water close by, grinning and waving and yelling for Ellie to watch him swim. The toddler was completely perplexed as she watched him swim a bit deeper, and then back to her and Steve. He shook the water from his curly brown locks, grinning at her. Steve lowered her into the water until her stomach was submerged, and she wiggled, reaching for Peter. Peter looked back at Steve, eyes shining with hope. The blonde sighed. 

“Okay. Please be very gentle. The salt in the water may burn her eyes, so try to keep her face dry.” Peter held her like she was made of glass and after a few minutes of wandering around, leaned backward and floated, with Ellie sitting on his chest. 

“Being a big brother isn’t so bad!” he exclaimed to her as he used his arms to propel himself through the water. When Ellie got squirmy and bored, they changed activities, and instead started collecting seashells. Ellie excitedly toddled close by, picking up the brightly colored shells and bringing them back to Peter every time she found one. He’d ooh and ahh and tuck it into his pocket for safekeeping. 

“Peter! Can you bring the kid over!” Tony called, waving from underneath the umbrella. He waved back and turned back to the toddler who was still looking for shells. 

“C’mon Ellie. Your dad wants us.” he offered his hand to hers. For a moment, she eyed him, gray eyes looking at his hand curiously before she got a mischievous glint in her eye and took off from him. “Hey, don’t run away, run in the other direction!” he scolded, running after her as she burst into squeals and laughter at the potential for a game of chase. Turning her head to look over her shoulder and beam at him, her foot caught a bit of driftwood and sent her flying face first into the damp sand. Peter was at her side in a matter of seconds, lifting her up so her feet were on the ground again and tsking as he brushed the sand from her face. Her big gray eyes quickly snapped open in confusion. “See, this is why you don’t run when you’re not supposed to.” Peter chided, taking her hand and leading her back to the towel. Tony leaned down and held his arms open for her. 

“I saw you wiped out pretty hard there kid” Tony stated, chuckling as she walked into his waiting arms. 

“Sorry Mr. Stark, I should have been a bit faster” Peter said sheepishly. Tony shook his head and patted him on the shoulder.

“It’s fine Pete. She would’ve fallen eventually. It was only a matter of time.” Peter plopped himself down on the towel and stretched out, slightly relieved to have Ellie back with someone else that could be responsible for her. Tony fed her some orange slices, a handful of pistachios (only because she fussed when he wouldn’t share his snack with her), and a half a ham and cheese sandwich before she climbed up onto Natasha’s chair and tried to take her book from her. 

“Okay, if you’re going to sit up here with me, you have to sit nicely.” The spy was quick to tuck to the girl in a towel (since Ellie was very wet and Natasha was very, not) and sit her against the crook of her arm. “Here, will reading to you calm you down a bit?” Natasha read from the pages of her mystery novel quietly, feeling Ellie occasionally snuggle into her. She was out cold in less than five minutes.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So last week's thing with a new chapter or one-shot didn't go as planned. I didn't get any votes, so instead of posting one-shots or new chapters, I began posting the story on Tumblr instead. Worry not though, there are only 15 more chapters before I can branch out a bit more with the story. As school winds down to a close, there may be a bit of lag with the posting of new chapters (because of finals and moving back home and all that), so I have to forwarn you guys about that. Thank you all for the continued support! Your feedback means the world to me.


	10. Chapter 10: Never Been this Way Before

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Part 2 of the Beach R&R Trip. Ellie surprises her daddies.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Find me on Tumblr, [here](http://stonyinmyheart.tumblr.com/).

Ellie slept for about two hours before squirming into Natasha’s shoulder and blearily blinking up at her beneath her long dark eyelashes. The redhead looked down at her and smiled a bit. 

“Someone had a good nap.” She commented, smoothing down her unruly hair and running her finger along her cheek, which was patterned with indentations from sleeping against the ruffles of Natasha’s bunched swimsuit strap. The toddler rubbed her eyes a bit and cuddled back into the crook of her neck with a tiny yawn. Affectionately, Natasha patted her back and went back to reading her book. Every now and again she’d look up, and watch the guys play volleyball. Honestly, it was more like Steve and Tony arguing about a strategy (or Tony not wanting one) and Sam and Clint (who had joined them halfway through the day) winging it and kicking their ass. Natasha shook her head and mumbled, “Men” under her breath. 

Peter was laying on the blanket, working diligently on some math homework. He looked up when he heard her speak. “Ellie’s awake?” he’d asked, sitting up and peeking over to see. Natasha hummed and shifted the slowly awakening child in her grasp. The doe-eyed teen smiled a bit and whispered as he scooted closer to Natasha’s chair “Hi Ellie, I hope you slept well.” Surely enough, she looked over Natasha’s shoulder when he spoke and shot him a sleepy smile. “Gosh, Ellie is so cute. Mr. Stark is going to be such a great dad for ya.” He sang, petting her soft curls. Her gray eyes watched him for a moment. 

“Dada?” She parroted, curiously waiting for him to speak again. Natasha and Peter shared a look. 

“Well, yeah he’s going to be your dad.” Peter quickly corrected, “But I’m not sure what you’re supposed to call them.” Ellie grinned back, wiggling out of Natasha’s hold so she could brace her legs against the woman’s strong though and stand up. 

“Dada!” She copied again, smiling so hard they could see both of her dimples. Peter flinched and looked to Natasha for help. 

“Uh, should I call Mr. Stark? He might want to hear that.”

“Yeah, that might be a good idea.” The spindly teenager was off before she even finished her sentence, running as quickly as his feet could carry him across the warm afternoon sand. Natasha looked down at the girl in her arms and chuckled, setting her book down and turning her to sit on her lap. “Did you say dada? Are you feeling talkative?” she whispered, smiling down at her. Ellie blubbered into a string of giggles, turning in Natasha’s grasp as the guys ran sprinted over, all of them wide-eyed and flushed from the summer sun.   
“Alright Nat, hand over the kid. I have to hear this for myself.” Tony demanded, holding his hands out. Natasha rolled her eyes and gently handed Ellie over. The guys crowded around him, all blinking at her expectantly. 

“I swear, she just said it a second ago.” Peter murmured, peeking over Tony’s shoulder. 

Steve shook his head and leaned down so he was face to face with the toddler. “Okay, I got this. Ellie, deces Papa.” Ellie’s bright gray eyes settled on him for a moment and she broke out into a grin. 

“Papa!” Sam whooped loudly and high fived Clint. Steve clapped Tony on the back as he pulled her into a hug. 

Peter spoke up, confused. “But wait!” They stopped their celebration and eyed Peter. 

“Well, what it is it, kid, spit it out?” Tony insisted. 

“Well, she said dad, not Papa, before.” Steve looked down at Tony in surprise.

“Dada!” Ellie copied, gray eyes sparkling as she looked over at Peter. 

“See, that's it!” Peter cheered. 

“Wait, but who is who?” Clint questioned, looking expectantly at Tony and Steve. The coupled eyed each other.

“We can try asking.” Steve said with a shrug “Ellie, who is Papa?” 

“Papa” she repeated casually, looking between them as she waited for a response. Sam cocked a brow at her. 

“I don’t think she gets that one Steve.” he snickered. 

“What did I miss?” Pepper asked, walking up to them holding a bunch of drinks. “You sent me off to get drinks and I missed all the fun, didn’t I?” The team (minus Peter) cracked open their beers and toasted to Steve and Tony being parents. The couple couldn’t help but give each other a little kiss, which sent Ellie into a whining fit because she didn’t get any kisses. Steve peppered her chubby cheeks in kisses, followed by Tony, who made loud dramatic muah sounds every time his lips smacked against her face, sending her into loud squeals and laughter. Steve watched Tony’s eyes soften as Ellie looked up at him with twinkling gray eyes. Everything was perfect.   
...  
Steve couldn’t resist the smile coming onto his face as he looked Ellie over. 

She was a complete mess. 

She and Peter spent the remainder of the afternoon playing in the waves, building sand castles (more like Peter the building sandcastles and Ellie knocking them over mischievously), collecting more seashells (which Ellie was quick to run over to one of the team and offer them as gifts) and of course, she was covered in sand, small pieces of seaweed and red syrup from where she’d shared a snow cone with Peter. But, it was getting close to time for her to have dinner and get into bed, and he was sure that Peter needed to be home soon. 

“Ellie! C’mere kid!” He called Tony and Pepper packed up the chairs, and dumped the water out of the cooler. Her tiny head snapped in his direction at the sound of her name. Peter lifted her up onto her feet and challenged her to a race, taking off in the direction of Steve. Ellie followed, stumbling in the unstable sand a few times, but quickly made it to Steve’s side, panting and flushed, but clearly exuberated. “You should go ahead and get your things together Peter, we’re going to pack it in.” 

“Sure thing Mr. Rogers. Thank you for letting me play big brother. It was pretty fun!” Peter sang. 

Steve sat Ellie down on a pink towel and began doing his best to brush the loose sand from her skin. “No, thank you for keeping her entertained. I appreciate it.” He shot a wink at the teen, who giddily, skipped off to gather his belongings. “Now for you Missy. Did you have fun with Peter?” he asked as he began stripping her of her damp swimsuit and swim diaper. Ellie squirmed, happy to be naked as Steve did his best to wipe the sand and syrup off of her skin with baby wipes. He redressed her in a pink bow tie tank top and tiny jean shorts and did his best to pull her sandy curls up into a high ponytail as she wiggled and fussed. “El, what’s wrong?” she whined at him and reached out. 

“Petey!” she whimpered. He followed her eyes and sure enough, she was looking directly at Peter. Steve shifted her in his lap, looking between her and the skinny teenager with wide eyes. 

“What’s gotten into you today?” Steve asked, only to be met with more whining. “Okay, okay.” He mumbled, pulling on pink glitter sneakers and pressing down the velcro. “There ya go.” He set her on her face and she quickly toddled back over to him, beaming widely and holding her arms to be picked up, which he obliged as he packed his towel into his backpack. Steve sat there for a moment, just flabbergasted by her. 

“You know, if I didn’t know better, I’d say something surprised you babe.” Tony teased, bending over to lean on his partner’s shoulders. 

“Yeah, I just...Ellie said Peter’s name.” Tony leaned over Steve, his dark brown eyes wide. 

“No fuckin way.” 

“Way.” 

“Well, I’ll be damned. Natasha is going to be pissed.” He chuckled, standing up as Steve began folding up her towel and tucking the wet clothes inside of it. “She’s on a roll, huh Cap?” 

“That she is.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> To apologize for this short ass chapter, I have decided to go ahead and post a one-shot. It will be a two-part one-shot taking place after the snap in the timeline where civil war happens and Ellie stays with Tony. There will also be a tidbit on tumblr for this chapter! See you over [there](http://stonyinmyheart.tumblr.com/).


	11. Chapter 11: All You Can Do

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Tony and Steve get a surprise awakening, that leads to Tony opening up about what it means for him to be a dad.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for the late upload! The last 4 weeks have been crazy, with finals and moving out of my dorm and a bunch of end of the year festivities I had to attend. Thank you to everyone who is still interested in the story! I hope to go back to my regular upload schedule, however, I have been writing some pretty cool stuff on Tumblr, so if you haven't checked that out, please do!

On the way home, the team dropped Peter off (to Ellie’s dismay) and picked up pizza for dinner (to Steve’s dismay). Sam and Clint helped unpack the van and carry everything upstairs, while Tony got Ellie upstairs. She whined the whole way, pausing every now and again to tiredly fist her eyes or let out a yawn. Tony ran his hand up and down her back, shushing her as they rode the elevator up to his and Steve’s floor, but it didn’t manage to do anything for her fussiness. He carried her into their kitchen and grabbed a small plate, fork, and a sippie cup.

“Kid, you have to eat before we get you into bed. I know you’re tired.” He set her into the brand new high chair that was positioned at the end of the table and patted her on the head. Ellie continued her whining, kicking her feet in irritation and actually starting to shed tears.

“Oh no, I hear crying.” Steve remarked, carrying two plates in his hand, stacked with slices of pizza. He set the plates down on the kitchen table and swiped a piece of cheese to take over to the counter.

“Yeah, she’s kind of grumpy. Probably just hungry and tired.” Ellie babbled at them, bottom lip poked out and the tips of her fingers half in her mouth as tears ran down her cheeks. She leaned back against the plush of the seat sniffling loudly and watching both of them.

“Aw, El, don’t cry.” Steve comforted, wiping her tears with his thumb and setting the small plate in front of her with a cut-up slice of cheese pizza. She immediately quieted down, reaching for the fork and picking at the squares awkwardly and leaning forward to put them into her mouth.

“You’re such a big girl, using your fork so nicely!” Steve praised.

Tony set a cup of juice down in front of her and nodded in the direction of the hall. “Want me to go start the bath?”

Steve nodded grabbing one of the slices from the stack and taking a bite. “Yes please.” He mumbled around his mouth full of pizza Tony tsked, grinning.

“Don’t have bad table manners like your Papa, kid.” Tony teased, heading out of the kitchen briskly. Steve watched her shovel piece after piece of pizza into her mouth quickly, decorating her face and t-shirt with bright red tomato sauce until her plate was empty. “Wow, look, you finished all your food!” Steve complimented, making her grin for a moment before she promptly swiped the plate off onto the floor and watched as it clattered against the dark wood and rolled underneath the table, sending her into peals of loud laughter. Steve gasped. “Ellie, don’t throw your plate.” Tony re-entered the kitchen a second later, eyebrow cocked at the pair.

“What aren’t we throwing?”

Steve frowned as he swallowed the last bite of the pizza he’d been eating. “Plates. Or anything for that matter, missy.” Ellie continued her giggling, slowly coming down from the hilarity of a plate hitting the floor. Tony snickered and shrugged.

“Every kid throws stuff, Steve. She’s too young to understand the differences between right and wrong.”

“Yeah, you say that now, wait until she’s chucking tools at you or something.” Both Steve and Tony chuckled together and watched their charge for a beat. “Alright, ready for a bath kid? You’ve got pizza sauce all over you.”

“Baf.” Ellie echoes, raising her arms. Steve scoops her out of the high chair and carries her to the bathroom. Steve bathed her among melon scented bubbles, making sure to get the sand and seawater residue out of her hair, and the crimson pizza sauce off her cheeks. He lets her play with toys as he rinses her off with the shower head.

“Alright, that about does it. I bet you’re ready for bed, huh?” He asks, picking up a soft pink towel from the toilet top. He lifts her from the cooling water as it drains, wraps her in the plush towel, and carries her off to the nursery. Steve dresses her in a simple red onesie, per instruction from Marcellina that Ellie ‘runs hot’. By the time Steve has her dressed, her damp curls tamed and braided, and her teeth brushed, Ellie is a dozing mess. Her head bobs uncontrollably, and she whines each time it falls against her chest or shoulder.

“Tony! We’re ready for you!” Steve calls. The genius is by their side in a moment, still chewing. Steve tucks Ellie into her crib for the first time. He pulls the lavender, mermaid patterned blanket up to her chin and pets her hair.

“Alright, let me do the honors mister.” Tony whispers, nudging him aside and leaning down to kiss Ellie’s forehead. “Sweet dreams, short stack.”

Steve’s next. He leans over the bars and kisses both of her cheeks. Tony grumbles that he’s a showoff. “Goodnight Angel. I love you.” The dads leave the room together, hand in hand, and gently shut her door.

“So...what do parents do while their kids sleep?” Steve asks, heading into the kitchen to clean up. Tony smirks to himself. “I can think of a few things we can get up to…"

* * *

 

It was 2 AM when Steve jolted awake to Ellie screaming at the top of her lungs. He quickly pulled the blankets back and _sprinted_ out of the bedroom, startling Tony as well. Ellie was standing in her crib, holding onto the bars and her rabbit as she sobbed. Her cheeks were glistening in the dim light of the rabbit-shaped night light on her dresser.

“It’s okay Ellie. Come here, baby.” Steve lifts her into his arms and rests her on his hip. He sways her, patting her back and gently shushing her. Tony stumbles in a moment later, blinking tiredly and squinting at the pair.

“What’s goin’ on?” He grumbles out. Steve holds the back of his hand against her forehead and hums.

“Not sure. She doesn’t have a fever.” Ellie quiets into whimpers as Steve dries her cheeks. “There you go. You’re okay.” She fists her eyes, whining and snuggling into Steve’s shoulder.

“Maybe she just wanted you.” Tony says, grinning a bit.

“Maybe. I know you’re tired. Let’s get you back to sleep.” Steve lifts her to lay her back in bed, which sends her into hysterics of screaming and grasping at Steve’s sleep shirt. “Okay, okay I won’t put you down it’s alright.” He sets her back on her on his hip and bounces her. “I’ve got you. I won’t put you down honey.”

Tony nods his head back to their bedroom. “Let’s go back to bed. We can just put her back in the crib once she’s asleep.” Steve nods in agreement and follows Tony back to their bed. The couple climb in and snuggle up under the minky, soft blankets. Ellie nuzzles into Steve’s chest and cuddles her rabbit in one of her arms.

“There we go.” Tony leans on his arm and watches Ellie doze with a sad smile on his face. “Her sister was saying she had pretty bad nightmares after the accident.” He whispered, watching her shift so she can suck her thumb.

“Yeah, I’m sure she did. Watching your parents drown and nearly drowning yourself would be hard on an adult, let alone an infant.” Tony runs his fingers through her downy curls, freeing dark brown tendrils from the once perfect braids. “It was hard. Losing my parents I mean. And I was in my _twenties_. I can’t imagine what that would be like as a kid. Do you think she’ll remember them?”

Steve watched her sleep for a moment, mulling the question over in his head as she rose and fell with his breathing. “I don’t think her sister will let her forget. I don’t want her to forget either. Her parents are a vital part of her identity and who she is.” Tony yawned and nodded, cuddling against Steve’s shoulder.

“I think it’ll all be okay in the end. I think...we’ll figure it out as we go and that’ll be that. I just... don’t want to repeat the mistakes my father made.” Tony commented. Steve turned his head to plant a kiss among the soft, dark curls on Tony’s head.

“Don’t you worry about that. I think you’ll be an amazing dad.”

“Same to you _Papsicle_.” Steve rolled his eyes.

“Let’s just let her sleep with us. Just for tonight.”

“I second that.” Steve agreed, pulling the blanket up over the three of them. “Goodnight Ellie. Goodnight Tony.”

Tony grumbled into Steve’s shoulder. “Night Babe.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> As usual, your feedback means the world to me! Thank you for your continued support!
> 
> Find me on tumblr, [here](https://stonyinmyheart.tumblr.com/).


	12. Chapter 12: Head Off to The War

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Steve receives news that changes everything.

Tony did not expect to wake up to the cold, barefoot of a toddler in his neck. Yet, here he was. The sun had barely begun to shine through the curtains. Steve was still snoring away quietly, turned on his side with his arm under his head. The billionaire groaned and rolled over to find Ellie splayed like a starfish across the bed, her brown rabbit half way underneath one of her arms. He sat up to resettle her between them, but the second he had her in his hands, her eyes were fluttering open and she was rubbing her eyes and giving him a sleepy smile. His heart  _ might _ have melted right there. 

“Sorry to wake you squirt.” He whispers, setting her down against the free space on his pillow. Ellie rubs her face against the plush cotton, her little tongue peeking out as she sits up, slowly. “You’re not going back to sleep, are you?” 

She flops against his chest with a yawn. Her big gray eyes sparkle at him as the sun illuminates her skin, almost making her look like she’s glowing. “Dada?” Ellie taps the tips of her fingers against her lips.

Tony cocks a brow. “What that? Do you want to eat some breakfast?” He asks quietly. Ellie nods slowly, with a tiny yawn. “Alright. I can throw some breakfast together. C’mon kid.” Tony lifts her against his chest as he sits up and sets her in his lap while he puts his slippers on. “There are French toast sticks in the group kitchen. Let’s go steal some.” Ellie kept a good hold on her rabbit as Tony carried her to the elevator and headed down to the communal floor. Bruce was sitting at the table, drinking tea and reading something on a Stark Pad when the two entered. 

“Hey, Bruce.” Tony greeted. Ellie politely waved at him. He waved back at the tot with a grin. 

“Good morning Tony. Do you think you’ll have time to help me finish up the energy core tonight?” He asked as Tony sat Ellie down on her feet. 

“‘Course science bro. Anything for you.” Tony moves things around and frowns. “Where’d the French toast sticks go?” 

Bruce flinched. “Well...about those...I think Peter might have finished off the box a couple of days ago.” The engineer pursed his lips and closed the fridge door. 

“Damn. I was planning on giving them to Ellie for breakfast.”

“I think we can throw her something together. There’s eggs and bread so we can make actual French toast if you want.” Bruce set the stark pad on the table, downed the last of his coffee and used a napkin to dry his mouth before standing to join the brunette man near the fridge. 

Ellie rubbed her eyes and leaned against the island, watching the two of them for a moment. “Dada?” She hummed, followed by a string of babbles he couldn’t quite make out. Tony turned around and squatted to be on her level. 

“Hey, the kitchen isn’t safe for cute little kids like you when we’re cooking. Last thing I want is for you to get burned. Steve would kill me..” He whispered, rubbing her chubby cheek with his thumb and making her grin at him and lean into his touch. “Let’s go get you some toys.” Tony lead her out by the hand and noticed a few things in the corner of the room. He unzipped the bag of blocks and dumped them on the floor, rolled out the race track patterned carpet, set some of the cars and trains up for her, and turned the sound on her lion themed scoot toy on. “There you go. Why don’t you build something? Bruce and I will make you something good, okay?” Ellie nodded at him and sat on the carpet, and rolled a blue train back and forth along the floor, enjoying the sounds it made. Tony ruffled her hair and went back to the kitchen. 

It only took 5 minutes, before Bruce felt the tap of a little hand on the back of his leg. Ellie was behind him, blinking up at him curiously with a lime colored, megablock in her hands. “Oh. Hi kid.” Tony looked over and frowned. 

“No honey, the kitchen is dangerous right now.” He carried her back to the toys and sat her down. Ellie looked a bit perturbed by that. Tony set up a baby gate along the doorway this time to keep her out. Another five minutes and Ellie was back, frowning at the gate and trying to open it. 

“Dada!” She called, looking confused as she leaned against the white bars.

Tony walked over and patted her head. “Sorry kiddo. It really is too dangerous while we’re cooking. Do you wanna watch something on tv instead?” She whined and handed him a purple megablock. “Well thank you sweet pea.” He kissed her head and went back to cooking, setting the block on the island. Ellie toddled off and returned with a red train, and quickly stood on her tiptoes to drop it over the side of the gate. Bruce looked up from the frying pan in front of him and smiled. 

“Oh, you dropped your Train. Here you go.” He leaned down and picked it up, offering it back to her. She grinned when he handed it off to her and she toddled away, only to return with another toy, that she promptly pushed over the gate. This time, when Bruce came over, she gave him the universal toddler language sign for ‘pick me up’. Bruce sighed. How was he supposed to say no to that cute little face?

“Ellie.” Tony said, frowning down at her. “You can come in as soon as the stove is off. Until then you have to stay on that side of the gate. I don’t want to be killed by Steve if you get hurt” Ellie pouted, lowered her arms and flopped down on the floor to lean her face against the bars. Not too far away, the elevator opened, revealing Steve still dressed in his pajamas and Peter, who was grinning from ear to ear with his backpack slung over his shoulder. Ellie’s head snapped up at the sound of the doors closing and she beamed, pushing herself to stand and quickly toddling in their direction. 

“Papa!” Ellie squealed, eyes wide and lips curled into a big smile. 

“Good morning pumpkin!” Steve cooed, leaning down and opening his arms for a hug. She hopped into his arms with a big smile, nuzzling him. Her stray curls tickled his face as she squirmed in his arms. “Look who's here!” Ellie’s head popped up as Peter waves at her. 

“PETEY!” She screeched excitedly. Steve chuckled and handed Ellie off to Peter. 

“Hi! It’s good to see you again Ellie! Are you having a good morning?” At the line of questioning, Ellie pouted, eyebrows drawn together, and pointed at the kitchen. 

“Voy cocina.” Ellie squeaked. 

Peter bounced her, cocking a brow. “What’s that?” He asked. Steve watched the two interact for a moment, confused himself. It must’ve been Spanish.

“Friday, can you translate what she said into English?” 

“Sure thing Captain Rogers. The babe said ‘I go’, and ‘kitchen’” Peter’s face lit up as he continued bouncing her awkwardly. 

“Oh! You’d like to go to the kitchen? I can take you there.” Peter bounced the two of them to the doorway. He easily stepped over the gate and cheesed at Bruce and Tony. “Good morning Dr. Banner! Good morning Mr. Stark.” Ellie smiled triumphantly from his hip. Tony shook his head at the pair. 

“You know, you’re one smart cookie kid.” He quips, plating the last piece of French toast. Peter beams and licks his lips. 

“Thanks, Mr. Stark!” 

Tony chuckles. “Not you kid, the  _ other _ kid in the room. She tricked you into bringing her into the kitchen after I told her she couldn’t be in here.” 

“Oh! Sorry, Mr. Stark.” Peter whispered with a cringe. Tony shook it off. 

“Don’t worry about it. The stove is off now anyway. Let’s eat.” 

 

After breakfast, Steve took Ellie upstairs and got her clean and dressed. 

“Alright, open your mouth munchkin.” Ellie opened her mouth wide and handed her the green toothbrush with a little amount of pink glittery toothpaste. She held it by the handle and stuck it into her mouth, awkwardly moving it against her teeth. “Good girl.” He praised. 

“Captain Rogers, Sam Wilson is asking for you in your living room.” Ellie’s head snapped up in time with Steve’s. 

“Oh. Thank you, Friday. I appreciate the heads up.” Steve thought for a moment. Sam wasn’t one to show up out of the blue unless there was something serious going on. He took Ellie’s toothbrush and held her over the sink so she could spit. He dabbed her mouth with a towel and carried her into the living room. 

“I never pegged you for being good at hair.” Sam complimented from the couch, gesturing to the near perfect buns on either side of her head. Steve chuckled. 

“Youtube is a wonderful teacher.” Steve sat Ellie down on the floor and turned on the TV, being sure to change the channel to something for kids. “We’ll be in the kitchen, Ellie.” She looked up and beamed at him, turning back to the screen of bright colors and leaning her head back against the couch. He nodded over to the kitchen and the two men sat down at the table. “Is something wrong?” 

Both of Sam’s eyebrows rose as he dug into his bag and pulled out a laptop. “More like something has gone  _ right _ . Barnes went off the grid again. We lost him.” Sam opened the screen and clicked a few things before turning it to face Steve. Surely enough, he watched the blinking red dot of a tracking device zip around a map as the dates changed before it disappeared entirely. 

“How is that, right exactly?” 

“You didn’t let me get to the most important part.” Sam teased, typing something in and turning the screen back to him. “Barnes showed up in DC.” Both of Steve’s eyebrows shot up as he looked at the slowly flashing dot on the screen. 

“What’s he doing in America?” Steve asked, squinting. 

“Beats me. He hasn’t moved much. He may be just gathering intel for someone. That someone being Hydra of course.” 

Steve nodded. What the hell was he supposed to do? He couldn’t go after him right now, not with the foster hearing coming up. He bit his lip. What if hydra sent him after Tony? Blue eyes met deep pool of brown. “The timing is still bad. I’ve got the foster hearing in four days. We still have one more house check to go through and even once I’ve got Ellie...I can’t go after Buck. If we’re going to do it, we’re going to have to do it  _ now. _ ” Sam cocked a brow. 

“Even if we find him...what’re we going to do with him. Do you really want a brainwashed assassin in the same house as your toddler? Because I’m not sure that’s the best choice of action.” Steve looked over at the couch. He could hear the upbeat music of a theme song and see cartoon dogs running across the screen. 

Steve sighed. “I hate to ask.”

Sam snorted. “I knew you would. I can keep him while he gets help. But once he recovers…”

“Once I’m sure he’s fully recovered, he can move into the tower. Tony can lock access to his floor or something. To keep Ellie safe.” Sam nods. 

“Then, I guess we’ve got a mission to go on.” 

“I guess we do.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you all for the continued support! It's crazy to me that we now have 3 2 0 0 hits! I can't even imagine that many people liking this fic, it's CRAZY! As usual, if you're interested, you can find me on tumblr, [here](https://stonyinmyheart.tumblr.com/). See you next Tuesday!


	13. Chapter 13: Pick a Star

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Someone familiar shows up on the front steps of Avenges Tower, leaving Tony and Steve to handle a tense situation and realize the two of them might be more of a target than they realize.

**__** “You sure you’re up for this?” Tony asked, reaching over to pat Steve’s leg. 

“Yeah. I’m sure. We’ve got to get the stuff out eventually anyway. Don’t want Marcellina to have to pay any more than she already does to keep this place.” The place in question, was a storage unit with a blue door and the numbers 318 painted above the handle. Tony got Ellie from her car seat and set her on the ground. He held her hand as Steve unlocked the padlock and slid the door up revealing a room no bigger than a closet, with 5 cardboard boxes inside. 

“Dat?” Ellie asked, blinking at a familiar box. Steve squatted and undid the tape, revealing photos upon photos. 

“What’s that one?” Tony questioned too, leaning down. Ellie wiggles between them and beamed as she reached to pick up a stack with clumsy little hands. 

“Meesha!” She cheered. Surely enough, the top picture was Marcellina. She looked much younger and was dressed in a big red dress. Ellie offered it to Tony. He flipped it over and read the perfect cursive that was scrolled across the back. 

“Marcellina Victoria Beatriz Gordon, quincinera.” Ellie offered him a second. 

“Bebe.” She pointed to a little bundle dressed in a white lacy dress. Her mouth was open in a scream, and she still looked damp. There was a tall man, with striking gray eyes and a shorter woman with sharp brown eyes and hair streaked with silver holding the baby with a pleased smile on her face. 

“These must be your mommy and daddy, huh El?” Ellie pursed her lips and pointed to the bundle again. “And that’s you when you were a little baby. You must’ve been christened.” He turned it over and in the same, perfect handwriting was ‘Elenora Valentina Luz Gordon, 3 months old, christening ceremony’. “Steve look at how little she was!” Tony cooed. 

“Oh if you think that’s good, take a look at this one.” Steve offered a photo from another stack. It was Ellie, perched on top of her mother’s shoulders with a pair of sunglasses on. 

“Me!” She chirped, beaming and pointing with a chubby finger.  

“That is you! You were smaller then.” Steve informed, resting a hand on the small of her back. Steve hummed at a picture with Ellie sleeping against her mother’s chest, and another with Ellie laying on the floor between her parents and Marcellina.

Ellie got bored after a few minutes and focused on another box, trying to open it herself. Tony shook his head and pulled back the tape for her, revealing a few items from what was probably her nursery. There was a mobile of plush stars, her hand and foot prints in a framed shadow box, and a music box. 

“Hey Steve, take a look at this.” Tony scooted closer to his boyfriend and Ellie quickly climbed into his lap. Turning the small knob in the back and opening it revealed a little ballerina, spinning in time with an instrumental rendition of a song Steve couldn’t quite place. Tony on the other hand, laughed, loud and hearty. Ellie bounced along to the rhythm in his lap. 

“Am I missing something?” He asked. Tony shook his head. 

“It’s ‘You Shook Me All Night Long’, its a rock song. Just...a lullaby version I guess.” He chuckles. “You’re parents had good taste in music, huh?”

“Tony, take a look at this!” Steve fished around in the box and pulled out a beautiful, embroidered blanket. It was yellow, soft fleece, decorated with black striped little bees and music notes. Ellie’s full name was spelled out in perfect cursive along the middle. Her face lit up when she saw it. She popped up in Tony’s lap with open arms and fell into it, grinning from ear to ear and nuzzling her face into the soft material. 

“Ban’ket, ban’ket” She mumbled lovingly. Steve melted at the pure happiness on her face. 

“This is seriously the cutest thing I’ve ever seen.” Tony snaps a picture for a keepsake. Together, they go through the rest of the boxes. There’s a journal of Ellie’s early life from her mother, a beautiful gown she left to Ellie, jewelry, an oboe, a bottle of expensive perfume, a bottle of cologne, and a big box of DVD’s that Tony promised to digitize later for her. Steve and Tony hauled the boxes into the trunk of the car while Ellie watched, holding the blanket tightly to her chest. 

“C’mon kiddo. Let’s grab some lunch?” Steve offered, opening the side door and holding his arms out to her. Ellie eyed him warily and shook her head slowly. He raised a brow. “What’s wrong?” Ellie squirmed under his gaze and held her blanket tighter, shaking her head more vigorously. Steve bridges the distance between them and leans down to her. “You don’t want lunch?” She wavers from foot to foot, gray eyes looking between him and the car. 

“Don go…” she mumbles into the soft fabric, slowly tearing up. 

“Oh no honey, don’t cry.” Steve pulls her into his grasp. He shushes quietly. “We’re just going to go eat, wherever you want. We can get sandwiches, or soup, or, there’s a really good Mac and cheese place.”

“Don wanna  _ go _ .” 

Tony joins them a moment later, leant down to their height. “What’s the hold up curly Q?” Ellie whines and points to the car. 

“Hurt…” she whispers, turning in his arms and looks between the two of them. Tony cringes. Steve sighs. They share a look of understanding. 

“Don’t worry Ellie, the car won’t hurt you.” Steve comforts, rubbing a strong hand up and down her back. 

“He’s right ya know. Not only is your daddy a  _ great _ driver when he’s not speeding, but, the car basically drives itself. There’s no way anyone could hit us and the car wouldn’t react so we can  _ avoid _ accidents.” Ellie snuggles into Steve’s shoulder and shakes her head. Steve sighs and tries his best to comfort her. 

“Okay, what can we do so the cars not scary?” Steve offers. Ellie wiggles in his hold and covers her eyes. “If you can’t see, is it less scary?” She nods. “Okay, how about, some music. Would that make it better?” 

“Musica?”

“That’s right kid. Any kind you want. You like country? I’ll play country. You want rock? I’ll play you some good rock.” Tony assures. After a moment, Ellie nods. Tony reaches in his pocket. “I’ve got  _ just  _ the thing.” He slips a pair of oversized sunglasses on her face. “Bam. How’s that?”

“Okay…” she mumbles, still looking a bit unsure and reaching up with one of her hands to adjust the glasses on her face. Tony and Steve are slow with the process of getting her in the car. Tony buckles her in and Steve blares country music at her request and tucks her into the carseat with her blanket. Tony makes sure to hand her, her prized rabbit, and all was well. 

“You know” Tony starts as he slides into the passenger seat and shuts the door. “We’re  _ damn _ good dads.” Steve chuckled above the music. 

“Yeah?”

“ _ Hell _ yeah.” 

* * *

 

After lunch, the trio headed back up to the adoption agency. Luckily, after some food, Ellie’s anxiety about the car had lessened, and it hadn’t taken anything other than a little bit of coaxing and Tony’s sunglasses to get her into her car seat. Thanks to a fully belly, Ellie was in good spirits, pointing out things she saw as they took the interstate. 

“Papa, sheep!” Ellie squealed as they passed a farm with grazing animals. 

The blonde chuckled. “Those are cows honey.”  

“Cows dada!” She corrected herself. “Moo cows.”

“That’s right, cows do moo, you’re right about that.” 

Steve patted Tony’s thigh absentmindedly.“Hey...I need to talk to you.” Tony shot him a look of curiosity and turned in the passenger seat.

“I’m all ears blondie.” Steve adjusted his hold on the steering wheel and sat back. 

“Well...I have to take a very important mission. I have to leave tonight.” Tony nodded along. This wasn’t anything new. Steve had gone on emergency missions before. 

“So...what, are you asking permission? Because that’s kinda hot.” Tony questioned. Steve shook his head with a small grin. Geez, Tony really knew how to ruin a serious moment. 

“No, nothing like that. It’s just...this isn’t any old mission. Bucky...showed up in DC.” Steve was lucky he was driving, otherwise he’s pretty sure Tony would’ve crashed the car. “And...I’m planning to go get him.” For a moment the genius next to him just blinked. Steve could see all the wheels in his brain turning. 

“And...then what?” Tony asked. Steve shot him a look. 

“Then...We hire the best damn therapist we can? He’s brainwashed Tony…” Tony heaves a heavy sign and runs his hand down his face. 

“I’m assuming you have no plans of having a brainwashed assassin into the tower...right?” Tony notes the guilty look on his partner’s face. “Especially considering we’ll have social workers and people coming to check and make sure our home is safe for a baby. I’m pretty sure having someone who can’t control their actions and, I don’t know  _ kills for a living,  _ would fail us.” 

Steve shifts uncomfortably “Tony, I didn’t-“

“What, didn’t think? Because I don’t think you thought this through at all, did you?” He hisses. The inventor crosses his arms and pushes himself back against the seat. “I can’t believe you’d risk everything for him. Ellie is attached to us. Do you know how  _ fucked _ it would be to take that away from her? For us to lose her?” Steve cringes, but doesn’t correct him. The car is silent for a moment, other than I happy humming and babbling coming from Ellie in the backseat. Despite the tension up front, Ellie is having the time of her life playing with her rabbit, which almost makes Steve feel worse. The trio pulls into a parking spot. Tony gets out the second Steve’s got the car in park and opens the back door. He unbuckles her from her car seat and picks her up, setting her on his hip before slamming the door and stalking off to sulk. He plops the both of them on a bench, and rubs his hand up and down Ellie’s back. 

“Papa?” Ellie asks, looking over to the car and pointing a confused finger. 

“He’s coming.” Tony takes a moment to study her curious gray eyes. “We’ll be back before you know it, ya know? Only a few days until the hearing and I won’t let anything get between you becoming our daughter.” Ellie grins at him, all toddler teeth and rosy cheeks. She places her forehead against his. Tony closes his eyes with a sigh. Steve’s feet crunch through the gravel and he joins him on the other end of the bench. He wraps his arms around his partner’s shoulders and surprisingly, Tony doesn’t snatch away. 

“You’re right.” He says simply, voice deep and serious. Tony bounces Ellie on his knee, not looking away from her shining eyes and little button nose. 

He scoffs. “Of course I’m right.” Steve rubs circles in Tony’s biceps affectionately. “Now isn’t the best time. Ellie comes first.” Tony nods along. “I’m sorry I ever considered anything else. We can risk it right now. Winning the hearing and being parents like we wanted to should be my only focus.” He agrees. 

“It’s your best friend. If it was Rhodey...I’d do the same thing. In a heartbeat…” Tony said. Steve looked at him in surprise. “Now is just bad timing.” Steve nods in understanding. 

“Sam and I will put it off. We’ll give it a few weeks. Hope he stays in the US.” Tony nods back. For a moment, they sit there in relative silence. “I guess we better get her in, huh?” Steve asks quietly. Tony stands, still holding Ellie in his arms. The trio enter the adoption center. As usual, the place as all hustle and bustle, kids running around, cartoons playing loudly, and the occasional scream from a kid having a little  _ too  _ much fun. Today it was Olivia sitting at the front desk. 

She gave them a sweet smile. “Good to see you back! I heard you’ve already got a custody hearing soon?” she asked, fishing out a pen and the sign in clipboard from a drawer on the desk. Steve smiled politely and leaned down to sign Ellie back into their care. 

“That’s right. Four days from now.” Olivia gives them a grin. 

“Good. You both will make wonderful parents. Ellie loves you something fierce.” She states. Tony tweaks her nose playfully. S squeals and squirms in his arms, smiling brightly at him and setting his heart ablaze. Tony sets her on her little feet and Steve joins her, both of them down on one knee. Steve smooths her hair. Tony holds one of her tiny hands in his. 

“It’s time for us to go hun.” Steve says, blue eyes locked on her sparkling gray ones. She frowns a little. “But don’t worry, we’ll be back, just like last time.” 

Tony nods. “And you’ll get to go with us forever. How’s that sound? We’ll throw you a party, and no more leaving us. Promise kiddo.” She steps into their arms with a quiet whimper. Both Steve and Tony hold her close, one arm wrapped around her each. 

“Good to see my favorite little girl again.” Ms. Honey rounds the corner. Ellie’s head pops up and she smiles a little. “Why don’t you come on with me. Give your daddies some space so they can prep to bring you home.” Ellie gives both Steve and Tony one last look before letting them go. 

“Bye bye.” She says quietly, heading straight to her side. Ms. Honey holds her hand. 

“The next time we see you, you’ll be dads. Good luck.” 

* * *

 

“Alright, so, we should definitely do a whole party, a big shebang.” Tony says, the stylus of his tablet sticking out between his lips as he tapped on the screen. 

“Yeah?” Steve asks. Tony hums. 

“Go all out. We’ll mix all the baby parties into one. First birthday party, baby shower, gender reveal, and welcome home party all in one. I’m thinking bounce houses, petting zoo, candy bar, swimming pool...everyone loved the waffle station last time right?” Steve looks over out of the corner of his eye. 

“Yeah, I think I remember Bruce saying that was a good aspect of the last party you threw.” Steve muttered. 

Tony snorted. “We’ll do waffles  _ and _ pancakes. Oh god, a theme. What would be a good theme?” 

“I don’t know honey. Maybe...a beach party? She seemed to like the beach.” Steve comments, sounding a little exaspersas he stops at a light.

Tony laughs, with a nod. “You’re a damned genius Steve.” They continue their journey home. Tony rambles on and on, planning the perfect party (down to the damned napkins) as they pull into the parking garage, eyes glued to his tablet. Steve suddenly slams on the breaks, blue eyes wide as saucers.

“Babe? Tell me you didn’t hit a dog.” Tony blurts out, head snapping up to see what’s blocking their path. “Please tell me that’s not the fucking Winter Soldier in my fucking garage.” He hisses, looking up. The suit is floors away, there’s no way it’ll get there before the fight starts. He looks over and sees the small amount of sweat coating his partner’s face. 

Steve doesn’t look back. He’s tense, his blue eyes locked in and his knuckles white against the black steering wheel. “Tony. I need you to get into the tower without provoking him. Do you think you can do that?”

“Of course I can.” He raises his wrist to his lips. “Jarvis...open the garage door. Sound the alar-“

“No alarms.” Steve cuts him off, mind already coming up with a plan. “I don’t want to spook him. God knows what he’s got on him and we’re surrounded by civilian dwellings.” Tony nods. “Send Clint and Natasha down. I may need backup.” 

“You got it.” Tony steps out of the car, hands raised in front of him. Bucky’s deep blue eyes scan him for a moment before settling on Steve again in the front seat. Tony smirks to himself, heading in and asking Jarvis to send Natasha and Clint down while he gets the suit. 

Steve steps out, hands raised as well. “Bucky…” he says quietly. For a moment, there’s a flash of recognition in his eyes. “Buck, why are you here.” Steve asks, voice even and calming. His eyes flicker over Bucky for a moment. He looks better than he’d seen him in the past. No blood or outward injuries. The man shakes his head. 

“Who the hell is Bucky?” He asked, eyes narrowed dangerously. 

“You’re Bucky. You’re my best friend.” Steve explains, voice even and calm. Bucky shakes his head, long brown hair dancing across his sharp facial features. 

“You’re my mission. And I always complete my mission.” He says, immediately charging at him. The two exchange blows, Steve doing more dodging than punching.

“We’ve been best friends...since the 40’s...you...have to remember!” Steve dodges punches, flipping away from Bucky’s attacks, when all of a sudden, there’s another body between them. The quick, graceful movements instantly tell him it’s Natasha. 

“Missing something?” A voice yells. It’s Clint, tossing the shield through the air like a frisbee. Steve catches it, just in time for Natasha to vault herself up onto it, flipping over Bucky and pulling a thin cord around his neck. The two fight for a moment, before Steve kicks Bucky’s legs from under them, sending both assassins to the ground. Clint takes aim and shoots an arrow onto Bucky’s metal arm. It buzzes to life with bright blue electricity, temporarily stunning him. Natasha takes the opportunity to add a jolt of her own with her widow bites, knocking Bucky unconscious. When the dust settles, Natasha, Clint and Steve stand over Bucky’s unconscious body.

“You wouldn’t happen to know anything about why the Winter Soldier, previously an enigma to many global intelligence agencies, came knocking at our front door like some kind of guest, would you?” Natasha quipped after a moment. Steve sighed to himself. 

“That’s a long story…”

 

 

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**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for the like 3 month long hiatus. Real life shit hit me a lot harder than I expected to and I kind of died for a little bit. Anyway, here is the end chapter. I’m not going to create a schedule for uploading because I know better than to play myself. My work schedule is all over the place and I don’t want to get anyone’s hopes up and not be able to fulfill my promise. As usual, if you head over to my tumblr [(here)](stonyinmyheart.tumblr.com) I post life updates sometimes and talk to people. Thanks for your continued support!


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